Amorphous silicon: From promise to practice: A once-revolutionary idea takes hold in liquid-crystal display drivers and pocket calculator solar cells ¿ with more commercial products to come

Extensive research in solar cells has provided the basic understanding of amorphous silicon that is enabling a variety of companies to utilize this material in a host of new products. A major advantage of amorphous over crystalline technology is the significantly reduced cost. The low cost of amorphous technology is such that some applications would not be economically feasible without it, such as the solar cells that power pocket calculators. The author discusses amorphous silicon materials technology and explores two applications that are considered more significant; high-powered solar cells, and the thin-film transistor arrays that drive the latest generation of liquid-crystal color television and graphics displays, electrophotographic drums, gas sensors, and image arrays.