Flexible silicon solar cells

Silicon-Film Solar Cells by a Flexible Manufacturing System

NOTICE This report was prepared as an account of work sponsored by an agency of the United States government. Neither the United States government nor any agency thereof, nor any of their employees, makes any warranty, express or implied, or assumes any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information, apparatus, product, or process disclosed, o...

Silicon-Film Solar Cells by a Flexible Manufacturing System

Latest Results on Stabilized Flexible Thin Film Silicon Solar Cells

Our primary goal is to increase the stabilized efficiency of thin film silicon solar cells in the substrate (nip) configuration by using textured substrates and tandem structures, based on amorphous (a-Si:H) and microcrystalline silicon (μc-Si:H). In order to reduce costs of mass-produced thin film solar modules, special attention has been paid in developing processes compatible with plastic fo...

Flexible Microcrystalline Silicon Solar Cells on Periodically Textured Plastic Substrates

Roll-to-roll processing of thin film solar cells on flexible low cost substrates is an attractive option to lower the production cost of photovoltaic modules. Plastic substrates like PET or PEN are insulating which potentially offers advantages compared to conducting steel foils. However, plastic substrates require lower processing temperatures and novel schemes for efficient light trapping. In...

Silicon nanowire solar cells

Silicon nanowire-based solar cells on metal foil are described. The key benefits of such devices are discussed, followed by optical reflectance, current-voltage, and external quantum efficiency data for a cell design employing a thin amorphous silicon layer deposited on the nanowire array to form the p-n junction. A promising current density of 1.6 mA /cm2 for 1.8 cm2 cells was obtained, and a ...