Application of electrochemical deposition techniques to thin film solar cell processing

Bülent M. Başol

doi:10.1117/12.896362

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13 September 2011 Application of electrochemical deposition techniques to thin film solar cell processing

Bülent M. Başol

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Proceedings Volume 8110, Thin Film Solar Technology III; 81100Q (2011) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.896362
Event: SPIE Solar Energy + Technology, 2011, San Diego, California, United States

Abstract

During the last eight years the manufacturing volume of thin film modules has grown at a compounded annualized rate of over 90%. Today the share of thin film products in the global photovoltaics (PV) market is in the range of 10-15%. Considering the fact that wafer Si technologies have achieved impressive cost reductions during the last few years, any increase in thin film market share during the next decade will require these technologies to aggressively drive for cost reductions through device efficiency improvements and utilization of lower cost manufacturing techniques. Electrochemical deposition or electrodeposition is an attractive low cost approach for the formation of thin film coatings. Such coatings have already found large scale applications in circuit board fabrication and integrated circuit manufacturing. In these applications, the electroplated layers are mainly used as passive components that carry electrical current. Application of electrodeposition techniques to thin film solar cell fabrication involves formation of semiconductor absorber layers that actively participate in power generation. This requirement brings along certain challenges that need to be overcome. In this paper we will present a review of work carried out for the application of electrodeposition techniques to the fabrication of CdTe and CIGS based solar cells and modules.

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Bülent M. Başol "Application of electrochemical deposition techniques to thin film solar cell processing", Proc. SPIE 8110, Thin Film Solar Technology III, 81100Q (13 September 2011); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.896362

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