Second generation solar cell, also known as thin-film solar cell (TFSC) or thin-film photovoltaic cell (TFPV), is made by depositing one or more thin layers (thin films) of photovoltaic material on a substrate. The most advanced second-generation thin film materials in use today are amorphous silicon (aSi), cadmium telluride (CdTe), and copper indium gallium selenide (CigS). The thickness range of such a layer is wide and varies from a few nanometers to tens of micrometers. is thin-film now the way to go? There are certainly many good reasons for moving to thin films for the solar cell manufacturing process.
1. Thin film deposition.
Copper indium gallium selenide (CigS) is used for the thin film active layers in CigS solar cells, commonly formed using
sputter deposition. During this vacuum-based process, a plasma of electrons and ions is created from inert argon gas. These ions dislodge atoms from the surface of a crystalline material which is then deposited to form an extremely thin coating on a substrate. Depositing thin film by sputtering is the same process used in semiconductor manufacture and in packaging.
2. Thin film annealing.
After sputtering, the thin film needs to be annealed to achieve optimum results. it is also possible to inject additional chemicals during the annealing process. An annealing furnace is similar to the brazing furnace commonly used in packaging industries. The muffle is typically made of SUS 316L material to ensure good corrosion resistance for the thin film solar panel’s corrosive environment. A typical belt furnace can anneal up to 600 x 1200mm (23.6 x 47.2-in.) thin film solar panels after thin film deposition.
3. Metallization.
Like its first generation cousin, the manufacture of thin film solar cells need Al or Ag screen printing metallization, originally invented for the thick film process. Such metallization pastes or inks can be used on both rigid (glass, silicon) and flexible (polyimide, polyester, stainless steel) substrates. The metallization can be accomplished through either thermal curing or firing.
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