This includes some innovative thin-film technologies, such as perovskite, dye-sensitized, quantum dot, organic, and CZTS thin-film solar cells. Thin-film cells have several advantages over first-generation silicon solar cells, including being lighter and more flexible due to their thin construction.
With intense R&D efforts in materials science, several new thin-film PV technologies have emerged that have high potential, including perovksite solar cells, Copper zinc tin sulfide (Cu 2 ZnSnS 4, CZTS) solar cells, and quantum dot (QD) solar cells. 6.1. Perovskite materials
The three major thin film solar cell technologies include amorphous silicon (α-Si), copper indium gallium selenide (CIGS), and cadmium telluride (CdTe). In this paper, the evolution of each technology is discussed in both laboratory and commercial settings, and market share and reliability are equally explored.
Thin-film solar cells (TFSCs), also known as second-generation technologies, are created by applying one or more layers of PV components in a very thin film to a glass, plastic, or metal substrate.
With its impressive photovoltaic characteristics, CZTS has taken over the thin-film solar cell research very quickly. Thin-film solar cell is considered the second generation of solar cells due to polycrystalline/hetero-junction structure [90, 91]. In CZTS thin-film solar cells, the CZTS layer acts as a p-type region.
It is safe to assume that thin-film solar cells will play an increasing role in the future PV market. On the other hand, any newcomer to the production scene will, for obvious reasons, have a very hard time in displacing well-established materials and technologies, such as crystalline and amorphous silicon.
OverviewHistoryTheory of operationMaterialsEfficienciesProduction, cost and marketDurability and lifetimeEnvironmental and health impact
Thin-film solar cells are a type of solar cell made by depositing one or more thin layers (thin films or TFs) of photovoltaic material onto a substrate, such as glass, plastic or metal. Thin-film solar cells are typically a few nanometers (nm) to a few microns (μm) thick–much thinner than the wafers used in conventional crystalline silicon (c-Si) based solar cells, which can be up to 200 μm thick. Thi…