Title :
2.8 watt, large-area Silicon-Film solar cells
Author :
Ford, David H. ; Barnett, Allen M. ; Checchi, Joseph C. ; Collins, Sandra R. ; Hall, Robert B. ; Kendall, Christopher L. ; Lampo, Steven M. ; Rand, James A. ; Trabant, Amanda M.
Author_Institution :
AstroPower Inc., Newark, DE, USA
Abstract :
The objective of the Silicon-Film program is to produce a high-performance, large-area solar cell that utilizes low-cost materials and manufacturing for terrestrial applications. A 2.82 watt solar cell has been developed. This solar cell is fabricated from a continuous sheet of thin-film polycrystalline silicon at a projected rate of 4.4 MW/yr. The as-grown sheet has a minority carrier diffusion length of 25-40 micrometers. Diffusion lengths of 160 micrometers have been achieved by employing post-growth gettering, bulk defect passivation and device design. Further improvements are expected as the process for providing as-grown sheet material is fine-tuned, which will result in a 3.15 watt solar cell in the near term. PC-1D modeling has been employed to provide the process development path to 3.75 watts
Keywords :
carrier lifetime; elemental semiconductors; getters; minority carriers; passivation; semiconductor device manufacture; semiconductor device testing; silicon; solar cells; 160 mum; 2.82 W; 25 to 40 mum; 3.15 W; 3.75 W; Si; Silicon-Film; as-grown sheet; bulk defect passivation; device design; fabrication; large-area solar cells; manufacturing; minority carrier diffusion length; polycrystalline semiconductor; post-growth gettering; terrestrial applications; Gettering; Laboratories; Manufacturing; Passivation; Photovoltaic cells; Photovoltaic systems; Semiconductor thin films; Sheet materials; Silicon; Solar power generation;
Conference_Titel :
Photovoltaic Energy Conversion, 1994., Conference Record of the Twenty Fourth. IEEE Photovoltaic Specialists Conference - 1994, 1994 IEEE First World Conference on
Conference_Location :
Waikoloa, HI
Print_ISBN :
0-7803-1460-3
DOI :
10.1109/WCPEC.1994.520512
