Photovoltaic silicone plate

Are crystalline silicon solar cells a good choice for photovoltaics?

The photovoltaics market has been dominated by crystalline silicon solar cells despite the high cost of the silicon wafers. Here Zou et al. develop a one-step electrodeposition process in molten salt to produce high-purity solar-grade silicon films, delivering power conversion efficiency of 3.1%.

Can thin-film silicon photovoltaics be used for solar energy?

The ability to engineer efficient silicon solar cells using a-Si:H layers was demonstrated in the early 1990s 113, 114. Many research laboratories with expertise in thin-film silicon photovoltaics joined the effort in the past 15 years, following the decline of this technology for large-scale energy production.

Can ultrathin silicon film be used for solar photovoltaics?

In a device design that brings mechanical flexibility to silicon photovoltaics, Jongseung Yoon, Alfred J. Baca and colleagues demonstrate how transfer-printing of ultrathin silicon films onto flexible substrates leads to semitransparent and large-scale arrays of integrated solar microcells with high solar-energy conversion efficiencies of 6–8%.

What are silicon-based solar photovoltaics cells?

Silicon-based solar photovoltaics cells are an important way to utilize solar energy. Diamond wire slicing technology is the main method for producing solar photovoltaics cell substrates.

What is crystalline silicon (c-Si) photovoltaics?

Provided by the Springer Nature SharedIt content-sharing initiative Crystalline silicon (c-Si) photovoltaics has long been considered energy intensive and costly. Over the past decades, spectacular improvements along the manufacturing chain have made c-Si a low-cost source of electricity that can no longer be ignored.

Will other PV technologies compete with silicon on the mass market?

To conclude, we discuss what it will take for other PV technologies to compete with silicon on the mass market. Crystalline silicon solar cells are today’s main photovoltaic technology, enabling the production of electricity with minimal carbon emissions and at an unprecedented low cost.