Advancements in PV multicrystalline silicon solar cells from 1980 to 2010 — An overview

The use of multicrystalline silicon solar cells has increased in the past decade because of its associated reduced cost and high efficiency. This paper discusses the various fabrication and characterization techniques that have been utilized in the advancement of multicrystalline silicon solar cells. The scientific understandings which helped to improve the cell efficiency from approximately 7% in 1980 to 20.3% in 2004 are discussed in this work. Additionally, this study provides an analysis of results of mc-Si solar cells that may lead to efficiency >;18% in industrial mc-Si solar cells. An extensive evaluation from material growth to cell processing is also discussed. Although there is no direct relation between the influence of grain boundary or dislocation and solar cell performance, the understanding of its influence on various solar cell parameters has led to improvement in its performance.