Thin Film Solar Cell Techology

 

   

    Thin Film Solar Cell Techology    -

By Sudipta Kundu, PG Student

                                                                 Department of Renewable Energy

Introduction: Thin-film solar cells were originally introduced in the 1970s by researchers at the Institute of Energy Conversion at the University of Delaware in the United States. Thin-film solar cells (TFSCs) are the second-generation solar cells that have multiple thin-film layers of photovoltaic or PV materials. These solar cells have a very thin layer of thickness (few nanometers) compared to conventional P-N junction solar cells. These layers are usually 300 – 350 times smaller than the layers of standard silicon panels.

Among all other types of solar panels, thin-film panels have the maximum potential for mass production. It is because these solar cells rely on different photovoltaic substances such as amorphous silicon, copper indium gallium selenide, and cadmium telluride, and do not rely purely on molten silicon when it comes to production.

Material Used: Thin-film technologies reduce the amount of active material in a cell. Since silicon solar panels only use one pane of glass, thin film panels are approximately twice as heavy as crystalline silicon panels, although they have a smaller ecological impact (determined from life cycle analysis). The majority of film panels have 2-3 percentage points lower conversion efficiencies than crystalline silicon. Cadmium telluride (CdTe), copper indium gallium selenide (CIGS) and amorphous silicon (a-Si) are three thin-film technologies often used for outdoor applications.

Current scenario & future aspects: The future of thin films looks strong. Despite serious obstacles, amorphous silicon has established itself as a viable competitor for wafer-based crystalline silicon devices. Once established in the marketplace, amorphous silicon is likely to make good progress and could even come to dominate the world PV market. The next generation of thin films-CIS and CdTe-shows stronger technical performance (efficiency and stability) and similar or potentially lower cost. The technical basis for Thin-films is solid; the accomplishments up to now have been in line with the technical basis and are likely to continue. Thin-film goals should be met, and by that means, low-price PV will become real. The key will be the resources and endurance needed to overcome technological challenges.

The recent boom in the demand for photovoltaic modules has created a silicon supply shortage, providing an opportunity for thin-film photovoltaic modules to enter the market in significant quantities.

Thin-films have the potential to revolutionise the present cost structure of photovoltaics by eliminating the use of the expensive silicon wafers that alone account for above 50% of total module manufacturing cost.