Thin film solar cells on glass based on the transfer of monocrystalline Si films

Thin film solar cells based on monocrystalline Si films are transferred onto a glass superstrate. Chemical vapor deposition serves to epitaxially deposit Si on quasi-monocrystalline Si films obtained from thermal crystallization of a double-layer porous Si film on a Si wafer. A separation layer that forms during this crystallization process allows one to separate the epitaxial layer on top of the quasi-monocrystalline film from the starting Si wafer. At present, we achieve an independently confirmed efficiency of 10.6% with a thin film solar cell of an area of 1.92 cm2 that consists of a 24.5 μm thick Si film transferred to glass. Device simulation indicates an efficiency potential of around 17%.