The thin film polycrystalline solar cell program in the U.S.A.

Abstract

The objective of the thin film polycrystalline solar cell work in the U.S.A. is to develop thin film materials which have potential for achieving thin film array efficiencies of greater than 10% at a price of $100-300/kWe. A variety of thin film materials and technologies are presently being researched to determine their potential for solar cell conversion and low cost fabrication. The materials being investigated include CdS, GaAs, Si, amorphous Si, InP, CdTe, Zn3P2, ZnSiAs, and Cu2O. Homojunction, heterojunction, Schottky barrier and conductive oxides are being studied as collection barriers for efficient solar cell conversion. The variety of solar cell research areas will be reviewed describing the technologies being pursued, the results obtained, and the important problems or issues to be resolved.