Precise ultrafast laser micromachining in thin-film CIGS photovoltaic modules

This study presents the micromachining of CuIn"xGa"("1"-"x")Se"2-based (CIGS) solar photovoltaic (PV) modules using an infrared (IR) ultrafast laser ablation setup, which is composed of a femtosecond laser source, galvano-mirror scanner and high-precision motor driven stages. Herein the three thin films (including back contact, absorber and front contact layers) of CIGS PV modules are used a one-time scribing technique. In this work, we propose to use the integrated laser system with a high repetition rate (100kHz) and an optimized energy density (fluence) threshold to achieve precise machining quality and acceptable throughput for the process of CIGS PV modules.