High-temperature processing of crystalline silicon thin-film solar cells

The crystalline silicon thin-film solar cell combines, in principle, the ad vantages of crystalline silicon wafer-based solar cells and of thin-film so lar cell technologies. Its efficiency potential is the highest of all thin- film cells. In the "high-temperature approach" thin silicon layers are depo sited on substrates that withstand processing temperatures higher than 1000 degrees C. The basic features of the high-temperature crystalline silicon thin-film cell technology are described and some important results are disc ussed.