We investigated the influence of different buffer layers to the electrical parameters (J(sc), V(oc), QE and efficiency eta) of solar cells. The cells with an In(2)S(3) and a ZnMgO buffer layer were compared with a reference cell with a CdS buffer layer. We performed temperature and light dependent current-voltage measurements, temperature dependent capacitance measurements and quantum efficiency measurements. The cells with In(2)S(3) and ZnMgO buffers differ not too much in J(sc), but they do differ in V(oc) and their electrical properties - fill factor FF, diode saturation current J(0) and efficiency eta. They also do differ in their spectral response, both at short and long wavelengths, and in their ideality factor. This indicates a different current transport mechanism. The device simulation program SCAPS is used for further interpretation of the measurements. After exploring the parameters we found an acceptable agreement between simulated and measured J-V and QE(lambda) curves. The simulated QE curves fit well over the whole spectrum, except for the CdS buffer cell, where there is an overestimation for the intermediate wavelengths. Because of this the simulated J(sc) is higher than the measured one. The simulated V(oc) agrees well for all cells. For the ZnMgO buffer cell it was necessary to include a buried homo-junction. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.