Development of Light-Trapped, Interconnected, Silicon-Film Modules

AstroPower is employing Silicon-Film(TM) technology toward the development of an advanced thin-silicon-based, photovoltaic module product. This module combines the design and process features of advanced thin-silicon solar cells, is light trapped, and integrated in a low-cost monolithic interconnected array. This advanced product includes the following features: silicon layer grown on a low-costsubstrate; a nominally 50-micron thick silicon layer with minority carrier diffusion lengths exceeding 100 microns; light trapping due to back-surface reflection; back surface passivation. The thin silicon layer achieves high solar cell performance and can lead to a module conversion efficiency as high as 19%. These performance design features, combined with low-cost manufacturing usingrelatively low-cost capital equipment, continuous processing and a low-cost substrate, will lead to high performance, low cost photovoltaic panels.