Rapid thermal annealing (RTA), with fast ramp rate, was performed on several Cu(In,Ga)Se-2 (CIGS) films and solar cells under various peak annealing temperatures and holding times. Characterizations were made on CIGS films and cells before and after RTA treatments to study effects of RTA on the CIGS film properties and cell performance. In addition, AMPS-1D device simulation program was used to study effects of defect density on the cell performance by fitting the experimental data of RTA-treated CIGS cells. The results show that RTA treatments under optimal annealing condition can provide significant improvements in the electrical properties of CIGS films and cell performance while preserving the film composition and microstructure morphology. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.