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Research Article | | Peer-Reviewed

Simulation of the Effects of the Thickness and the Bandgap of the Absorber on the Performance of the Quaternary Thin Film Solar Cell Based on Cu(In,Ga)Se2

Daouda Oubda*,  Sayouba Kabre,  Alain Diasso,  Boureima Ouedraogo,  Marcel Bawindsom Kebre,  Soumaila Ouedraogo,  Boureima Traore Issaka Sankara,  Adama Zongo,  Amidou Barry,  Boureima Sawadogo,  Pindewinde Sawadogo,  François Zougmore
Published in American Journal of Energy Engineering (Volume 14, Issue 1)
Received: 19 November 2025     Accepted: 13 January 2026     Published: 29 January 2026
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Abstract

In the field of energy transformation, the share of renewable energies continues to grow and gives hope to fight against global warming. In the global electricity mix we have: 15% for hydropower, and 14.5% for other renewables, according to 2022 figures. Among renewable energies, photovoltaic (PV) solar energy is the most promising with very high record yields of around 29% theoretically, 27.3% experimentally for record-breaking PV solar cells in the laboratory and 22% in industrial production for a solar panel. The selenide, gallium, indium and copper (CIGS) sector is very promising, one of its major advantages coming that the fact the quaternary alloy Cu(In,Ga)Se2 is a material with an adjustable bandgap (Eg). The freely available and highly stable one-dimensional solar cell capacities simulation software, is the tool used for the simulation. Digital simulation is an essential tool because it makes it possible to predict the behavior of the solar device and to be able to estimate its performances. The study of effects of the thickness (WCIGS) and the gap of the CIGS absorber with a cadmium sulfide buffer layer of 30 nm shows that current-voltage density characteristic is enormously affected for WCIGS ≤1000 nm. We therefore note a significant decrease in the values of the short-circuit current density (JSC) and the open-circuit voltage (VOC) when WCIGS decreases. These results are explained by a significant reduction in the quantity of incident photons absorbed and an increase in the recombination rate of the charge carriers photogenerated in the absorber. VOC increases and JSC decreases with the increasing of the absorber gap, the increase in VOC is therefore linked to a significant reduction in the recombination rate at the CIGS/Mo interface and inside the space charge region. The maximum efficiency is 26.33% for Eg = 1.45 eV and WCIGS = 3000 nm.

Published in American Journal of Energy Engineering (Volume 14, Issue 1)
DOI 10.11648/j.ajee.20261401.11
Page(s) 1-8
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This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

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Copyright © The Author(s), 2026. Published by Science Publishing Group
Previous article
Keywords

Numerical Simulation, Quaternary Thin Film Solar, Cu(In, Ga)Se2 Absorber, Thickness, Bandgap, Electricals Parameters

1. Introduction
In the field of energy transformation, the share of renewable energies continues to grow and gives hope to the important decisions taken by international policies in the fight against global warming
[1, 2]
. Global warming, which is caused largely by the consumption of fossil fuels through industrial processing. The share of renewable energies continues to grow in the global electricity mix: 15% for hydropower, and 14.5% for other renewables, according to 2022 figures
[3]
.
Renewable energies are positioned in the short and long term as a solution to the various problems encountered in the use of fossil energies. Among the different type of renewable energies, photovoltaic (PV) solar energy is becoming more and more promising with very high record yields of around 29% theoretically, 27.3% experimentally for record-breaking PV solar cells in the laboratory and 22% in industrial production for a solar panel
[4]
. For a tandem Perovskite-Silicon solar cell and multi-junction solar cell in GaAs, the record yield is respectively 34, 85% and 44, 7%
[5, 6]
.
In the solar photovoltaic field, we note several sectors among which we can cite the first-generation PV sector, made up of mono-crystalline and polycrystalline silicon technologies. The second-generation PV sector or thin film sector is made up of silicon technologies in its amorphous and polymorphic forms, indium copper selenide (CIS) and its variant selenide, gallium, indium and copper (CIGS), gallium arsenide (GaAs), cadmium telluride CdTe and copper, zinc, tin and sulfur technology (CZTS)
[7]
. The third-generation PV sector is made up of technologies based on organic solar cells and dye or Graëtzel solar cells, all of these PV sectors are promising.
In the rest of this paper, we will focus on copper, indium, gallium, and diselenide (Cu(In,Ga)Se2) PV technology. This PV technology shows great promise in terms of stability and conversion efficiency.
Our objective is to study the performance of the quaternary CIGS-based solar cell as a function as certain variable parameters of the CIGS absorber in order to make the PV conversion optimal.
Firstly, we will study the effect of the thickness of the absorber layer (CIGS) on the opto-electrical characteristics, then we will address the effect of the graduation of the CIGS gap on the electrical characteristics and efficiency quantum. Secondly, we investigate the bandgap effects on the quaternary CIGS solar device. Finally, we study the electrical parameters as a function of the simultaneously variation of the bandgap and the thickness of the CIGS.
2. Materials and Methods
The diagram of the typical model of a CIGS solar cell presents a structure where we have an absorber layer which occupies most of the solar device. The absorber is indeed the centerpiece of the Cu(In,Ga)Se2-based solar cell, its physico-chemical and opto-electric properties are of capital importance for the proper functioning of the CIGS solar cell
[8-11]
. More particularly the bandgap and the thickness of the absorber are very sensitive parameters for optimizing performances.
Figure 1 shows the structure of the CIGS-based solar cell with cadmium sulfide buffer layer.
Figure 1. Structure of CIGS-based solar cell.
We distinguish from bottom to top the soda glass substrate layer (Na2O2) (WNa2O2=1000 nm), the rear contact layer consisting of molybdenum (Mo) (WMo=500 nm), the absorber layer (CIGS) (WCIGS=100-3000 nm), the buffer layer (CdS) (WCdS=30 nm), the oxide layer transparent conductive (OTC) (WZnO=100 nm) and the front contact layer (Ni/Al/Ni) (WNi/Al =500 nm).
In many studies, the standard absorber thickness is 3000 nm. Reducing the thickness of the absorber is currently the subject of several studies
[12-15]
. It must make it possible to miniaturize the size of the cells, reduce the deposition time of the absorber and also minimize the production and transport costs of solar PV modules.
The absorber layer, the most important of the device, is made up of copper indium gallium diselenide (Cu(In, Ga)Se2). In high-efficiency CIGS devices, CIGS has a direct bandgap of 1.2 eV
[16, 17]
. One of the major advantages of the CIGS solar cell is the fact that the quaternary alloy Cu(In,Ga)Se2 is an absorber material with an adjustable bandgap, its bandgap can vary from 1.02 to 1.68 eV depending on of the ration x = [Ga]/([Ga] + [In])
[10, 18, 17]
according to equation (1):
(1)
A combination consisting to graduate the absorber bandgap and the using alternative buffer layers are now part of the innovative prospects of CIGS-based technology. With p-type conductivity and a large absorption coefficient of around 105 cm-1
[16]
, the absorber layer is where the conversion of incident photons into electron-hole pairs is optimal. The working principle of this solar cell structure is described in
[19-22]
.
The freely available and highly stable one-dimensional solar cell capacities simulation software SCAPS-1D for the simulation of thin-film solar cells is the tool used for the simulation. More details regarding this very attractive numerical simulation software can be obtained in this works
[10, 19-21, 23-27]
. In the field of photovoltaic solar energy, digital simulation is an essential tool because it makes it possible to predict the behavior of the solar device and to be able to estimate its performance.
Table 1. Base parameters of CIGS cell properties. —barrier height (, ), Se and Sh—surface recombination velocity electron and hole, W —layer width, —dielectric constant,  —mobility, Doping (electron/hole density), Eg—band gap energy, NC and NV —effective density of states, —conduction band offset, NAG —acceptor-like defect density, NDG —donor-like defect density, EA and ED —peak energy in, and, —capture cross section electrons and holes, —electron affinity,  —thermal velocity, WG —characteristic energy, Na, Nd —shallow uniform acceptor and donor
[13-15, 17, 19, 21, 28, 29]
.

Contacts properties

Parameters

Right

left

Reflectivity

p-CIGS

n-CdS

n-OVC

i-ZnO

n-ZnO

Layers properties

W (nm)

1000

30

1

80

100

Eg (eV)

1.2

2.4

1.45

3.4

3.3

(eV)

4.5

4.45

4.5

4.55

4.45

ɛ/ɛ0

13.6

10

13

9

9

Nc (cm-3)

2.2*1018

2.2*1018

2*1018

4*1018

2.2*1018

Nv (cm-3)

1.8*1019

1.8*1019

2*1019

3*1019

1.8*1019

ѵe (cm/s)

5*106

107

5*105

107

107

ѵh (cm/s)

5*106

107

5*105

107

107

µe (cm2/Vs)

102

102

1

50

102

µh (cm2/Vs)

25

25

1

20

25

Na (cm-3)

2.5*1016 (a)

-

1013 (a)

-

-

Nd (cm-3)

-

2.5*1016 (d)

-

5*1017 (d)

1018 (d)

(eV)

0.35

-0.3

-

-

-

Bulk defect properties

σe (cm2)

6.1*10-14

10-17

-

-

10-14

σh (cm2)

10-14

10-13

-

-

10-15

NAG, NAG (cm-3)

3*1014 (d)

1017 (a)

-

-

1013 (a)

EA, ED (eV)

0.6

1.2

-

-

1.65

WG (eV)

0.1

0.1

-

-

0.1
3. Results and Discussions
3.1. Effect of the Thickness of the Absorber Layer (CIGS) on the Opto-electric Characteristics
In this part of our work, we study the effects of the thickness and the gap of the CIGS absorber which are two parameters sensitive to the optimization of the performance of the solar cell. We keep the properties of the different layers
[14]
constant and we vary the thickness and the bandgap of the absorber. We also set the thickness of the CdS buffer layer to 30 nm in order to minimize the recombination rate inside this layer
[14]
.
Figure 2 shows that the variation in the thickness (WCIGS) of the absorber enormously affects the J-V characteristic for WCIGS ≤1000 nm. We therefore note a significant decrease in the values of the short-circuit current density (JSC) and the open-circuit voltage (VOC) (Figure 2) when the WCIGS of the absorber layer decreases.
Figure 2. (a) J-V characteristics, (b) quantum efficiency as a function of CIGS thickness.
From the analysis of the curve of Figure 3, we note that the values of the different electrical parameters decrease with the decrease in the thickness of the CIGS layer. This reduction becomes very significant when the thickness is less than 500 nm (WCIGS < 500 nm). We notice that JSC and η are the most affected parameters. Their values go from 36.66 to 19.73 mA/cm2 and from 22.99 to 11.58% respectively for WCIGS equal to 3000 nm and 500 nm. These results are explained by:
1) a significant reduction in the quantity of incident photons absorbed in the layer CIGS (Figure 2b).
2) an increase in the recombination rate of the charge carriers photogenerated in the absorber.
Figure 3. Electrical parameters as function on the thickness of the CIGS.
Indeed, when WCIGS≤500 nm (Figure 2b), the absorption of incident photons with wavelengths between 500 and 1100 nm decreases considerably. This is the origin of the decrease in JSC observed (Figure 2a) and Figure 3b. In addition, if the thickness of the CIGS is greatly reduced (WCIGS < 500 nm), the short wavelength photons penetrate deep into the absorber and generate electron-hole pairs near the back contact (Mo). Some photons dissipate as heat radiation through the Mo and Na2O2 layers. Thus, recombinations become important at these levels. This large quantity of electron-hole pairs which recombine results in a significant reduction in VOC (Figure 2a) and (Figure 3a).
The results for ultra-thin absorbers are extremely sensitive to interface recombination, and in our previous paper we have aborded it
[29]
. We also aborded the dominate recombination mechanism in the chalcopyrite Cu(In,Ga)Se2 thin film solar cell by highlighting the dominant type of recombination and its area of predominance
[8]
.
Experimentally, the reduction of thickness of the absorber to 500 nm leads to a significant reduction in the performance of the CIGS cell to around 6%
[12]
. Our model shows a loss in conversion efficiency of 3% if WCIGS= 500 nm (Figure 3d). The recombination rate at the CIGS/Mo interface becomes increasingly important with the decrease in the thickness of the CIGS, this can explain the loss of the stability and the performances of the CIGS PV solar device (Figure 3c and d). However, in order to reduce the thickness of the CIGS layer, for a thickness of the CdS layer of 30 nm, the range from 1000 to 1500 nm presents acceptable performances and good stability.
3.2. Effect of the Graduation of the Bandgap of CIGS on the J-V Characteristic and Quantum Efficiency
From Figure 4a, we note that the VOC increases and the JSC decreases when the absorber bandgap increases. On the other hand, with regard to quantum efficiency (Figure 4b), we see a significant decrease in the quantity of photons absorbed in the CIGS and which explains the decrease in JSC (Figure 4a). The increase in VOC (Figure 4a) is therefore linked to a significant reduction in the recombination rate at the CIGS/Mo interface and inside the SCR.
Figure 4. (a) J-V characteristic, (b) quantum efficiency as a function of the bandgap of the CIGS absorber.
3.3. Electrical Parameters as a Function of the Thickness and Bandgap of the CIGS Absorber
In this section, we study the performance of the CIGS-based solar cell through the graduation of the bandgap of the absorber for different thicknesses, in order to make the photovoltaic conversion optimal.
Figure 5. Electrical parameters as a function of the bandgap and for different thicknesses of the absorber.
Figure 5 shows that the curves of all the electrical parameters increase when WCIGS increases. Regarding the increase in the bandgap, the curves relating to VOC increase (Figure 5a), those of JSC (Figure 5b) decrease. It should be noted that the FF and η curves reach their maximum for the absorber bandgap value of 1.3 eV (Figure 5c and d) if WCIGS ≤1000 nm. For WCIGS >1000 nm, η is maximum for Eg = 1.45 eV. The decrease in the JSC values can be explained this time by a decrease in the optical absorption coefficient of the absorber conforming to equation (2)
[30, 31]
:
(2)
This leads to a reduction in the absorption of photons arriving in the absorber. The increase in the bandgap of the absorber which leads to an increase in the VOC and FF values and a decrease in the JSC values, makes it possible to obtain a maximum efficiency of 22.95% for Eg = 1.3 eV and WCIGS = 1000 nm (Figure 5d) and 26.33% for Eg = 1.45 eV and WCIGS = 3000 nm (Figure 5d). Likewise, we note that the fill factor (Figure 5c) is optimal for a bandgap of 1.3 eV.
It emerges from our various analyzes that the widening of the bandgap of the absorber has the effect of reducing the recombination of the charge carriers inside the SCR and at the interface CIGS/Mo.
4. Conclusion
In the field of photovoltaic solar energy, digital simulation is an essential tool because it makes it possible to predict the behavior of the solar device and to be able to estimate its performance.
In the present study, the investigations that we carried out on the thickness and the bandgap of the CIGS absorber using a thickness of 30 nm of the CdS buffer layer, present results which show on the one hand a significant reduction in the values of JSC, VOC, FF and η when WCIGS decreases. This drop in performance, which is explained by a reduction in the quantity of incident photons and an increase in the recombination rate of the charge carriers photogenerated in the CIGS absorber, results in a reduction in JSC from 36.66 to 19.73 mA/cm2 and η from 22.99 to 11.58% respectively for WCIGS equal to 3000 nm and 500 nm. On the other hand, the results obtained show that the increase in the bandgap leads to an increase in VOC and a decrease in JSC. The maximum value of FF is obtained for a bandgap of 1.3 eV when WCIGS ≤1000 nm, the maximum values of conversion efficiency are obtained respectively for a bandgap of 1.3 eV (22.95%) when WCIGS ≤1000 nm and for Eg = 1.45 eV (26.33%) for WCIGS ≤ 3000 nm.
Abbreviations

CdS

Cadmium Sulfide

CdTe

Cadmium Telluride

CIGS

Copper Indium Gallium Selenide

CIS

Copper Indium Selenide

CZTS

Copper Zinc Tin Sulfur

Eg

Bandgap Energy

GaAs

Gallium Arsenide

Na2O2

Soda Glass

OTC

Oxide Transparent Conductive

PV

Photovoltaic

SCAPS-1D

One-dimensional Solar Cell Capacities Simulation

ZnO

Zinc Oxide
Conflicts of Interest
The authors declare no conflicts of interest regarding the publication of this paper.
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    Oubda, D., Kabre, S., Diasso, A., Ouedraogo, B., Kebre, M. B., et al. (2026). Simulation of the Effects of the Thickness and the Bandgap of the Absorber on the Performance of the Quaternary Thin Film Solar Cell Based on Cu(In,Ga)Se2. American Journal of Energy Engineering, 14(1), 1-8. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajee.20261401.11

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    Oubda, D.; Kabre, S.; Diasso, A.; Ouedraogo, B.; Kebre, M. B., et al. Simulation of the Effects of the Thickness and the Bandgap of the Absorber on the Performance of the Quaternary Thin Film Solar Cell Based on Cu(In,Ga)Se2. Am. J. Energy Eng. 2026, 14(1), 1-8. doi: 10.11648/j.ajee.20261401.11

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    AMA Style

    Oubda D, Kabre S, Diasso A, Ouedraogo B, Kebre MB, et al. Simulation of the Effects of the Thickness and the Bandgap of the Absorber on the Performance of the Quaternary Thin Film Solar Cell Based on Cu(In,Ga)Se2. Am J Energy Eng. 2026;14(1):1-8. doi: 10.11648/j.ajee.20261401.11

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  • @article{10.11648/j.ajee.20261401.11,
  author = {Daouda Oubda and Sayouba Kabre and Alain Diasso and Boureima Ouedraogo and Marcel Bawindsom Kebre and Soumaila Ouedraogo and Boureima Traore Issaka Sankara and Adama Zongo and Amidou Barry and Boureima Sawadogo and Pindewinde Sawadogo and François Zougmore},
  title = {Simulation of the Effects of the Thickness and the Bandgap of the Absorber on the Performance of the Quaternary Thin Film Solar Cell Based on Cu(In,Ga)Se2},
  journal = {American Journal of Energy Engineering},
  volume = {14},
  number = {1},
  pages = {1-8},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ajee.20261401.11},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajee.20261401.11},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ajee.20261401.11},
  abstract = {In the field of energy transformation, the share of renewable energies continues to grow and gives hope to fight against global warming. In the global electricity mix we have: 15% for hydropower, and 14.5% for other renewables, according to 2022 figures. Among renewable energies, photovoltaic (PV) solar energy is the most promising with very high record yields of around 29% theoretically, 27.3% experimentally for record-breaking PV solar cells in the laboratory and 22% in industrial production for a solar panel. The selenide, gallium, indium and copper (CIGS) sector is very promising, one of its major advantages coming that the fact the quaternary alloy Cu(In,Ga)Se2 is a material with an adjustable bandgap (Eg). The freely available and highly stable one-dimensional solar cell capacities simulation software, is the tool used for the simulation. Digital simulation is an essential tool because it makes it possible to predict the behavior of the solar device and to be able to estimate its performances. The study of effects of the thickness (WCIGS) and the gap of the CIGS absorber with a cadmium sulfide buffer layer of 30 nm shows that current-voltage density characteristic is enormously affected for WCIGS ≤1000 nm. We therefore note a significant decrease in the values of the short-circuit current density (JSC) and the open-circuit voltage (VOC) when WCIGS decreases. These results are explained by a significant reduction in the quantity of incident photons absorbed and an increase in the recombination rate of the charge carriers photogenerated in the absorber. VOC increases and JSC decreases with the increasing of the absorber gap, the increase in VOC is therefore linked to a significant reduction in the recombination rate at the CIGS/Mo interface and inside the space charge region. The maximum efficiency is 26.33% for Eg = 1.45 eV and WCIGS = 3000 nm.},
 year = {2026}
}

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  • TY  - JOUR
T1  - Simulation of the Effects of the Thickness and the Bandgap of the Absorber on the Performance of the Quaternary Thin Film Solar Cell Based on Cu(In,Ga)Se2
AU  - Daouda Oubda
AU  - Sayouba Kabre
AU  - Alain Diasso
AU  - Boureima Ouedraogo
AU  - Marcel Bawindsom Kebre
AU  - Soumaila Ouedraogo
AU  - Boureima Traore Issaka Sankara
AU  - Adama Zongo
AU  - Amidou Barry
AU  - Boureima Sawadogo
AU  - Pindewinde Sawadogo
AU  - François Zougmore
Y1  - 2026/01/29
PY  - 2026
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajee.20261401.11
DO  - 10.11648/j.ajee.20261401.11
T2  - American Journal of Energy Engineering
JF  - American Journal of Energy Engineering
JO  - American Journal of Energy Engineering
SP  - 1
EP  - 8
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2329-163X
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajee.20261401.11
AB  - In the field of energy transformation, the share of renewable energies continues to grow and gives hope to fight against global warming. In the global electricity mix we have: 15% for hydropower, and 14.5% for other renewables, according to 2022 figures. Among renewable energies, photovoltaic (PV) solar energy is the most promising with very high record yields of around 29% theoretically, 27.3% experimentally for record-breaking PV solar cells in the laboratory and 22% in industrial production for a solar panel. The selenide, gallium, indium and copper (CIGS) sector is very promising, one of its major advantages coming that the fact the quaternary alloy Cu(In,Ga)Se2 is a material with an adjustable bandgap (Eg). The freely available and highly stable one-dimensional solar cell capacities simulation software, is the tool used for the simulation. Digital simulation is an essential tool because it makes it possible to predict the behavior of the solar device and to be able to estimate its performances. The study of effects of the thickness (WCIGS) and the gap of the CIGS absorber with a cadmium sulfide buffer layer of 30 nm shows that current-voltage density characteristic is enormously affected for WCIGS ≤1000 nm. We therefore note a significant decrease in the values of the short-circuit current density (JSC) and the open-circuit voltage (VOC) when WCIGS decreases. These results are explained by a significant reduction in the quantity of incident photons absorbed and an increase in the recombination rate of the charge carriers photogenerated in the absorber. VOC increases and JSC decreases with the increasing of the absorber gap, the increase in VOC is therefore linked to a significant reduction in the recombination rate at the CIGS/Mo interface and inside the space charge region. The maximum efficiency is 26.33% for Eg = 1.45 eV and WCIGS = 3000 nm.
VL  - 14
IS  - 1
ER  -

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Author Information

  • Daouda Oubda

    Doctoral School of Sciences and Technologies, Joseph KI-ZERBO University, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso

    Contact Email

  • Sayouba Kabre

    Doctoral School of Sciences and Technologies, Joseph KI-ZERBO University, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso

  • Alain Diasso

    Doctoral School of Sciences and Technologies, Joseph KI-ZERBO University, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso

  • Boureima Ouedraogo

    Doctoral School of Sciences and Technologies, Joseph KI-ZERBO University, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso

  • Marcel Bawindsom Kebre

    Doctoral School of Sciences and Technologies, Joseph KI-ZERBO University, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso

  • Soumaila Ouedraogo

    Doctoral School of Sciences and Technologies, Joseph KI-ZERBO University, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso

  • Boureima Traore Issaka Sankara

    Doctoral School of Sciences and Technologies, Joseph KI-ZERBO University, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso

  • Adama Zongo

    Doctoral School of Sciences and Technologies, Joseph KI-ZERBO University, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso

  • Amidou Barry

    Doctoral School of Sciences and Technologies, Joseph KI-ZERBO University, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso

  • Boureima Sawadogo

    Doctoral School of Sciences and Technologies, Joseph KI-ZERBO University, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso

  • Pindewinde Sawadogo

    Doctoral School of Sciences and Technologies, Joseph KI-ZERBO University, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso

  • François Zougmore

    Doctoral School of Sciences and Technologies, Joseph KI-ZERBO University, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso

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