부산대학교 도서관

Amorphous silicon solar cells are becoming a practical source of electric power. However, successful penetration of this huge market depends on solar panels competitive with conventional energy sources. Producing such panels ultimately depends on cost reductions at every stage. The fabrication of a complete monolithic photovoltaic panel requires a multistep process and the integration of many well-known technologies. Some of the key factors are: improvement in the quality of the TCO (Transparent Conducting Oxide) in terms of its sheet resistivity, transmission, and texture; novel patterning steps to be implemented since the conventional approach using lasers, in addition to causing some damage to the cell, is slow and can be one of the rate-limiting steps in production; and further improvements in yield are required because of pin hole formation due either to process conditions in terms of gas phase nucleation or dust inclusion from the ambient.