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Material Issues in the Commercialization of Amorphous Silicon Alloy Thin-Film Photovoltaic Technology

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 February 2011

S. Guha ,
J. Yang ,
A. Banerjee  and
S. Sugiyama
S. Guha
Affiliation:
United Solar Systems Corp., 1100 West Maple Road, Troy, MI 48084
J. Yang
Affiliation:
United Solar Systems Corp., 1100 West Maple Road, Troy, MI 48084
A. Banerjee
Affiliation:
United Solar Systems Corp., 1100 West Maple Road, Troy, MI 48084
S. Sugiyama
Affiliation:
United Solar Systems Corp., 1100 West Maple Road, Troy, MI 48084
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Abstract

Two significant developments took place in 1997 in the field of amorphous silicon alloy photovoltaic technology. First, a world record stable cell efficiency of 13% was demonstrated using a spectral-splitting, triple-junction structure. Second, a triple-junction photovoltaic manufacturing facility of an annual capacity of 5 MW was commissioned. In order to make the transition from R&D to production, critical material issues and deposition methods which ensure the lowest module cost per delivered watt needed to be evaluated. In this paper, we discuss some of these issues with special reference to the cell materials.

Type
Research Article
Information
MRS Online Proceedings Library (OPL) , Volume 507: Symposium A – Amorphous & Microcrystalline Silicon Technology 1998 , 1998 , 99
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 1998

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References

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