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Crystalline Silicon Photovoltaic Cells
Author(s) -
Green M. A.
Publication year - 2001
Publication title -
advanced materials
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 10.707
H-Index - 527
eISSN - 1521-4095
pISSN - 0935-9648
DOI - 10.1002/1521-4095(200107)13:12/13<1019::aid-adma1019>3.0.co;2-i
Subject(s) - materials science , microelectronics , photovoltaic system , silicon , wafer , polycrystalline silicon , crystalline silicon , thin film , engineering physics , photovoltaics , solar cell , optoelectronics , monocrystalline silicon , nanotechnology , electrical engineering , thin film transistor , engineering , layer (electronics)
The photovoltaic industry is in a phase of rapid expansion, growing at over 30 % per annum over recent years. Although technologies based on thin‐film compound and alloy solar cells are under active development, most commercial solar cells presently use self‐supporting bulk crystalline or multicrystalline silicon wafers, similar to those used in microelectronics. The laboratory performance of these cells, at 25 % solar energy conversion efficiency, is now approaching thermodynamic limits, with the challenge being to incorporate these improvements into low‐cost commercial products. Improvements in cell optical design, particularly in their ability to “trap” weakly absorbed light, has also led to a growing interest in thin‐film cells based on polycrystalline silicon, having advantages over other thin film photovoltaic candidates.