TRENDS IN INDUSTRIAL SILICON SOLAR-CELL PROCESSES

The performance and technology of industrial silicon solar cells have improved considerably in recent years. Conversion efficiencies exceedi ng 18% are reproducibly obtained by cost-effective technologies on lar ge area Cz-silicon. The performance of multicrystalline silicon cells is closing-in at 17.2%. Improved material casting techniques, a refine d technology, and efficient in-process material improvement techniques are found to be the major causes behind such advancement. The trend t owards thinner substrates leads to considerable material cost reductio n while yielding better performance. The major processing technologies and steps are critically discussed in this article, keeping in mind t he priorities of today's PV industry: cost, and environmental issues. The future trends of the technology are outlined. (C) 1997 Elsevier Sc ience Ltd.