The alternative buffer layer material In-x(OH,S)(y) was deposited on Cu(In,Ga)Se-2 (CIGS) thin films by chemical-bath-deposition (CBD). The impurities in In-x(OH,S)(y) buffer layers and their atomic concentration were characterized by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and Auger electron spectroscopy (AES) analyses. In addition, AES was used to depth profile the samples. The band-gap energy of the deposited In-x(OH,S)(y) was determined from optical absorption data. Both the dark- and photo-current-voltage (I-V) characteristics of the CIGS solar cells with In-x(OH,S)(y) buffer layers were measured, and the results were compared to the CIGS cells deposited with CBD CdS buffer layers.