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Key Points in the Latest Developments of High‐Efficiency Thin‐Film Silicon Solar Cells
Author(s) -
Sai Hitoshi,
Matsui Takuya,
Matsubara Koji
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
physica status solidi (a)
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.532
H-Index - 104
eISSN - 1862-6319
pISSN - 1862-6300
DOI - 10.1002/pssa.201700544
Subject(s) - silicon , materials science , optoelectronics , plasmonic solar cell , quantum dot solar cell , thin film , photovoltaic system , polymer solar cell , solar cell , monocrystalline silicon , engineering physics , nanotechnology , engineering , electrical engineering
Thin‐film silicon has been intensively used in photovoltaic applications. In recent years, most of the record efficiencies in thin‐film silicon solar cells have been updated frequently, particularly in microcrystalline silicon solar cells. In this article, key points in the latest developments of high‐efficiency thin‐film silicon solar cells are reviewed with a short overview of thin‐film silicon technology. The main driver for the efficiency improvement of microcrystalline silicon cells was the development of sophisticated light scattering substrates. The well‐designed honeycomb‐textured substrates enabled a systematic and detailed optimization to realize the growth of high‐quality films and significant light absorption enhancement simultaneously. The knowledge obtained about microcrystalline silicon solar cells and the insights regarding light‐induced degradation of a‐Si:H solar cells were successfully transferred to triple junction cells, which was demonstrated by the achievement of the record stabilized efficiency of 14%.