Amorphous Silicon, Microcrystalline Silicon, and Thin-Film Polycrystalline Silicon

Schropp R.E., Carius R., Beaucarne G.

Thin – film solar cell technologies based on Si with a thickness of less than a fewmicrometers combine the low – cost potential of thin – film technologies with the advantagesof Si as an abundantly available element in the earth’s crust and a readily manufac -turable ma te rial for photovoltaics (PVs). In recent years, several technologies have beendeveloped that promise to take the per form ance of thin – film silicon PVs well beyond thatof the currently established amorphous Si PV technology. Thin – film silicon, like no otherthin – film ma te rial, is very effective in tandem and triple – junction solar cells. The researchand development on thin crystalline silicon on foreign substrates can be divided intotwo different routes: a low – temperature route compatible with standard float glass or evenplastic substrates, and a high – temperature route (☻600♥C). This ar ticle reviews the ma te -rial properties and technological challenges of the different thin – film silicon PV ma te rials.