California-based Siva Power says it is nearing 19% photovoltaic conversion efficiency with its copper indium gallium di-selenide (CIGS) solar panel technology.
Siva Power says it received certification from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory last December for achieving 18.8% efficiency in the lab. The company had shifted its development focus to CIGS technology at the beginning of last year. Silva Power attributes its success to its production process, which uses a deposition approach rather than the more commonly used three-stage co-evaporation.
The company says it is preparing a manufacturing plan for the high-volume production of its CIGS thin-film panels using the deposition process.
