Publication

Technological status of plasma-deposited thin-film silicon photovoltaics

Christophe Ballif, Arvind Shah, Etienne Antoine Julien Moulin
2013
Journal Articles

Abstract

Basic properties of plasma-deposited amorphous and microcrystalline layers are summarized. Limitations for solar cell performance, which are a result of these basic properties are pointed out. Efficiencies and other solar cell parameters obtained for the best laboratory cells are presented and the resulting implications for future research discussed. Large-area Industrial modules and their typical key parameters are then given. Conclusions for the future market position of thin-film silicon PV as very low-cost renewable source of electricity are drawn up. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Official source

https://infoscience.epfl.ch/entities/publication/0b117465-d015-4452-b80e-31893f10cc59

About this result

This page is automatically generated and may contain information that is not correct, complete, up-to-date, or relevant to your search query. The same applies to every other page on this website. Please make sure to verify the information with EPFL's official sources.

Christophe Ballif, Arvind Shah, Etienne Antoine Julien Moulin
2013
Journal Articles

Abstract

Official source

https://infoscience.epfl.ch/entities/publication/0b117465-d015-4452-b80e-31893f10cc59

About this result

Ontological neighbourhood

Energy engineering

Solar power: Topics in solar power

Related concepts (26)

Thin-film solar cell

Thin-film solar cells are made by depositing one or more thin layers (thin films or TFs) of photovoltaic material onto a substrate, such as glass, plastic or metal. Thin-film solar cells are typically a few nanometers (nm) to a few microns (μm) thick–much thinner than the wafers used in conventional crystalline silicon (c-Si) based solar cells, which can be up to 200 μm thick. Thin-film solar cells are commercially used in several technologies, including cadmium telluride (CdTe), copper indium gallium diselenide (CIGS), and amorphous thin-film silicon (a-Si, TF-Si).

Crystalline silicon

Crystalline silicon or (c-Si) Is the crystalline forms of silicon, either polycrystalline silicon (poly-Si, consisting of small crystals), or monocrystalline silicon (mono-Si, a continuous crystal). Crystalline silicon is the dominant semiconducting material used in photovoltaic technology for the production of solar cells. These cells are assembled into solar panels as part of a photovoltaic system to generate solar power from sunlight. In electronics, crystalline silicon is typically the monocrystalline form of silicon, and is used for producing microchips.

Solar cell

A solar cell, or photovoltaic cell, is an electronic device that converts the energy of light directly into electricity by the photovoltaic effect, which is a physical phenomenon. It is a form of photoelectric cell, defined as a device whose electrical characteristics, such as current, voltage, or resistance, vary when exposed to light. Individual solar cell devices are often the electrical building blocks of photovoltaic modules, known colloquially as solar panels.

Related publications (29)

Font Side Solutions for c-Si Solar Cells with High-Temperature Passivating Contacts

Ezgi Genç

In this work, we studied the potential of using thin films deposited by plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) for two main purposes: introducing an n-type passivating contact at the front of a TOPCon solar cell, or simplifying the fabrication o ...

EPFL2024

Microstructural and electrical characterization of high temperature passivating contacts for silicon solar cells

Sofia Libraro

Recombination at metal/semiconductor interfaces represents the main limitation in mainstream c-Si solar cells, primarily based on the passivated emitter and rear cell (PERC) concept. Full-area passivating contacts based on SiOx/poly-Si stacks are a candida ...

EPFL2024

Stress tolerance of lightweight glass-free PV modules for vehicle integration

Christophe Ballif, Aïcha Hessler-Wyser, Antonin Faes, Jacques Levrat, Matthieu Despeisse, Gianluca Cattaneo, Fahradin Mujovi, Umang Bhupatrai Desai

Electric vehicles (EVs) currently dominate the sales in the automotive market. A big leap in this market can be made by developing a photovoltaic product that can be integrated to an EV, as it can boost the driving range of the EV while reducing the chargi ...

Edp Sciences S A2024