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Amorphous Silicon (a-Si) Alloy Solar Technology
Photovoltaic (PV) cells convert sunlight to electricity. Crystalline or polycrystalline silicon has been the most widely used materials technology for the PV industry. First utilized in space satellites, conventional silicon solar modules are fabricated in a step-and-repeat, batch process from small wafers of single crystal or polycrystalline silicon semiconductor materials. Although, substantial advances have been made in the development of this technology, the cost of these PV modules is still high because of the high cost of the thick wafers and numerous processing steps that are needed to manufacture the modules. In addition, the solar modules are bulky and break easily.
Amorphous silicon (a-Si) alloy thin film technology offers an interesting opportunity to reduce materials cost of the solar cells. Because a-Si alloy absorbs light more efficiently than its crystalline counterpart, the a-Si solar cell thickness can be 100 times less than that of conventional cells, thereby significantly reducing materials cost. By utilizing a flexible, stainless steel substrate and polymer-based encapsulates, PV products utilizing our technology can be very lightweight, flexible and durable. The cell is deposited using a vapor-deposition process at low temperatures; the energy payback time is therefore much smaller than that for the conventional technology.
Amorphous materials with different light absorption properties can be deposited continuously, one on top of another, to capture the broad solar spectrum more effectively. This increases the energy conversion efficiency of the multi-cell device and improves performance stability. Our unique multi-junction approach has resulted in world record efficiencies for our a-Sitechnology.We hold the current world records for conversion efficiency for both a-Si solar cells and modules, as measured by the U.S. Department of Energys National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL.)
To further reduce the manufacturing cost of PV modules, we have pioneered the development of and have the fundamental patents on a unique approach utilizing proprietary continuous roll-to-roll solar cell deposition process. In our high-volume manufacturing plant in Auburn Hills, Michigan, solar cells are deposited on rolls of stainless steel that are a mile-and-a half long using automated manufacturing machines. The a-Si alloy processor deposits the nine thin-film layers of the triple-junction cell on six rolls of stainless steel at a time.
The rolls of solar cell material are processed further for use in a variety of photovoltaic products for different applications ranging from battery charging to large-scale grid-connected systems.
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Lindora de Santa Ana, Costa Rica
email: solar@solarcostarica.com
(from US first dial 011) (506)2582-0623
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