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Silicon Solar Cells , Thin-film

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Solar Energy

Definition of Subject and Its Importance

Terrestrial photovoltaics , in which electricity is generated directly from sunlight, is one of the technologies in renewable energy which is actively pursued. There are several approaches that have been developed and are now in mass production with currently the ones based on crystalline silicon wafers being dominant. However, the ones based on thin films have a high potential for significantly lower cost below that of these well-established technologies. An attractive alternative for such a sustainable energy supply is the silicon thin-film solar cell technology. Because of the large differences between these and the well-understood crystalline solar cells , it is important to understand their nature and limitations on performance. It is also essential to understand the advantages that they offer for...

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Abbreviations

Amorphous:

A material with no long-range order and crystalline structure.

Gap states:

Defect-related states in the forbidden gap of semiconductor materials affecting their optical and electrical properties.

Metastability:

The creation of light-induced defects and corresponding gap states that can be annealed out (in the case of hydrogenated amorphous silicon and related alloys) at temperatures around or above 150°C.

Microcrystalline:

Structure of a material composed of 1 μm sized crystallites. Term used for silicon thin-film layers composed of a micron or sub-micrometer sized crystallites. See also nanocrystalline.

Microstructure:

Structure of a material on a scale of a micrometer or less.

Nanocrystalline:

Structure of a material composed of nanometer (more generally sub-micrometer) sized crystallites.

n-i-p solar cell:

n-type - intrinsic – p-type Si thin-film solar cell structures where the n-type layer is deposited first onto a (usually opaque) substrate.

Optical enhancement:

Enhancement of absorption of sunlight in a thin-film solar cells in particular at the longer wavelengths with use of textured and reflective layers.

p-i-n solar cell:

p-type – intrinsic – n-type Si thin-film solar cell structures where the p-type layer is deposited first onto a (transparent) substrate.

Plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD):

Deposition processes in which materials are deposited onto a substrate by the decomposition of gases with a plasma discharge.

Protocrystalline silicon:

Amorphous hydrogenated silicon deposited under conditions where the amorphous microstructure changes with thickness.

Stabilized efficiency:

Steady-state efficiency value attained after light-induced degradation of a solar cell.

Transparent conductive oxide (TCO):

Transparent thin films, typically made of tin or zinc oxide, which serve as electrical contacts to the solar cells.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Electrical Engineering Department, Center for Thin Film Devices, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, 16802, USA

    Dr. Christopher R. Wronski (Professor Emeritus of Electrical Engineering)

  2. Photovoltaics and Thin-film Electronics Laboratory, Institute of Microengineering (IMT), Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), A.-L. Breguet 2, 2000, Neuchâtel, Switzerland

    Dr. Nicolas Wyrsch

Authors
  1. Dr. Christopher R. Wronski
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  2. Dr. Nicolas Wyrsch
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Correspondence to Christopher R. Wronski .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Plataforma Solar de Almeria Institute of Solar Research DLR – German Aerospace Centre, Cologne, Germany

    Christoph Richter

  2. Institute of Research and Development of Photovoltaic Energy, Chatou Cedex, France

    Daniel Lincot

  3. Solar Consulting Services, Colebrook, NH, USA

    Christian A. Gueymard

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Wronski, C.R., Wyrsch, N. (2013). Silicon Solar Cells , Thin-film . In: Richter, C., Lincot, D., Gueymard, C.A. (eds) Solar Energy. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-5806-7_462

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