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5 Ω·cm recycled n-type CZ silicon feedstock is used to grow n-type multicrystalline silicon to investigate the possibilities of using other feedstock resources available from the rejected silicon of the semiconductor industry. High diffusion lengths were realized near the bottom region due to the less impurity contamination and relatively high resistivity. The heavy accumulation of metal impurities...
The design/performance qualification testing is a set of well-defined accelerated stress tests with strict pass/fail criteria. ASU-PTL is an ISO 17025 accredited testing laboratory and has been providing photovoltaic testing services since 1992. This paper presents a failure analysis on the design qualification testing of both crystalline silicon (c-Si) and thin-film technologies for two consecutive...
Fraunhofer ISE's concept for an advanced metallization of silicon solar cells is based on a two-step process: the deposition of a seed layer to form a mechanical and electrical contact and the subsequent thickening of this seed layer by a plating step, preferably by light-induced plating (LIP). The concept of a multi-layer metallization is used for most of the relevant high-efficiency cell types in...
This paper reports on BP Solar's DOE sponsored Solar America Initiative, Technology Pathways Partnership. The paper presents the goals, the technical approach and progress from the first nine months of the program. The overall goals of the program are to reach grid parity for residential and commercial markets and to increase production volumes. This program is addressing all aspects of the PV product...
In this work we report on the properties of amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) p-i-n solar cells fabricated on glass substrates covered with extremely high haze fluorinedoped tin oxide (SnO2:F) transparent conductive oxide (TCO) thin films, HU-TCO. The HU-TCO shows high haze value thorough the whole optical region where a-Si:H and microcrystalline silicon (μc-Si:H) solar cells are sensitive. We demonstrate...
This paper focuses on the fast spatially resolved detection of material and / or processing induced shunting using fast illuminated Lock-In Thermography (iLIT). With this technique shunting can be detected spatially resolved within a measurement time of only 1 s and thus the method in principle can be used for inline characterisation. Points addressed are the influence of Lock-In frequency on spatial...
High performance in crystalline thin (∼ 10 μm) film silicon solar cells requires complete optical absorption over its spectral range. Geometrical schemes are ineffective due to their large feature dimensions. Enhanced optical absorption can be achieved through two mechanisms based on diffractive and physical optics. In diffractive approach, light confinement is achieved through obliquely propagating...
The electrical health of solar arrays is verified by different tests. Solar array electrical performance tests are grouped in two categories, either requiring accurate or comparative results. Accurate electrical performance is performed with LAPSS and comparative electrical performance can be performed also with Mini-flasher test equipments. Mini-flasher tests have provided very valuable data on the...
In this paper, large grain polycrystalline silicon films on glass substrates have been fabricated at a low temperature of 350°C. The amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) films deposited by plasma-enhanced chemical vapor (PECVD) were transformed to polysilicon films by using nano-aluminum induced crystallization (AIC) at a low temperature. Effect of the annealing time on the grain size and crystalline phase...
The likeliest evolution of the space borne solar cell assemblies is towards thinner and lighter structures, capable to be used in combination with solar generator systems having a reduced volume at launch, combined with outstanding electrical performances.
We present the use of Glancing Angle Deposition (GLAD) as a means to fabricate porous thin films of copper phthalocyanine (CuPc) with high surface area for use in bulk heterojunction (BHJ) organic photovoltaic (OPV) devices. The deposition parameters available in GLAD enable the manipulation of film morphology, and therefore the ability to optimize structuring for use in OPV devices. Feature sizes...
We have developed a Laser-Assisted Deposition (LAD) process for improving the crystalline quality of CIGS thin films and cell performance. The VOC, FF and conversion efficiency improved by the LAD process for all CIGS devices with different Ga content. In particular the Voc improved remarkably for low Ga-content CIGS devices. In fact a high efficiency low-Ga CIGS thin film solar cell was achieved...
Manufacturing technology is being developed for the mass-production III–V multijunction solar cells and receiver sub-assemblies to help enable the emerging concentrator PV industry. Production contracts of various sizes have allowed us to begin exercising this manufacturing technology, and significant momentum has been realized toward fulfilling large production contracts. Over 400,000 solar cells...
A major objective for photovoltaic conversion is to develop high efficiency solar cells. Many approaches are under investigation - Multiple Junction Solar Cell, Multiple Spectrum Solar Cell, Multiple Absorption Path Solar Cell, Multiple Energy Solar Cell, and Multiple Temperature Solar Cells [1]. The Multiple Junction Solar Cell approach based on a six-junction tandem solar cell has been adopted to...
Spectral measurements of the solar radiation at the Earth's surface are important for meteorological, environmental, photovoltaic, and biomass study etc. Especially a long-term measurements and in-situ measurements are valid and efficient methods. Two types of spectroradiometers were developed for making those measurements in all weather conditions. One is a UV-VIS spectroradiometer for a wavelength...
In this work CdS/CdTe solar cells were submitted to solution, sublimation and vapor CdCl2 treatments, followed by NP etch for several periods of time. The influence of these procedures on cell efficiency is discussed. The individual layers are analyzed and the results are compared with similar studies in the literature. The best NP etching time was 20 s for all CdCl2 treatments. The highest efficiency...
A numerical simulation of the performance of CIGS solar cells has been carried out using the AMPS-1D device simulation program to study the sensitivity of cell performance (efficiency, photo-J-V, and QE characteristics) on material parameters. The simulation results suggest that the carrier mobility, recombination center density, and carrier density in the CdS and CIGS absorber layers most influence...
We demonstrate that the boron-oxygen (BsO2i) recombination center responsible for the light-induced degradation of Czochralski silicon solar cells can be deactivated by simultaneous annealing and illumination. After applying this deactivation treatment the improved carrier lifetime is shown to be stable under illumination at room temperature. The measured dependence of the deactivation rate as a function...
A number of different ink and deposition approaches have been used for the deposition of CuInSe2 (CIS), Cu(In,Ga)Se2 (CIGS), and CdTe films. For CIS and CIGS, soluble precursors containing Cu, In, and Ga have been developed and used in two ways to produce CIS films. In the first, In-containing precursor films were sprayed on Mo-coated glass substrates and converted by rapid thermal processing (RTP)...
Metallic nanostructures can excite surface plasmons and can dramatically increase the optical path length in thin active photovoltaic layers to enhance overall photoabsorption. This effect has potential for cost and weight reduction with thinned layers and also for efficiency enhancement associated with increased carrier excitation level in the absorber layer.
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