Concepts in next generation photovoltaic devices - materials engineering perspective

Summary form only given. Over the next quarter century photovoltaic (PV) electricity generation is projected to grow at a double digit rate. Advancements in PV device architecture, improvements in processing technologies, manufacturing scale-up, and a broader adoption of grid-interconnection standards are expected to enhance this growth further. In this presentation current state of the art in PV device fabrication techniques will be reviewed as well as concepts for developing photovoltaic devices that are nano-architectured to achieve higher device efficiency and for lowering the manufacturing costs by the use of traditional processing techniques will be discussed.