Solarfabrik 2020

Solarfabrik 2020 > Projects > In-line solar cell production based on silicon


In-line solar cell production based on silicon
Further information: Contact		The global market for photovoltaic (PV) technology is growing at an average annual rate of 30 to 40%. To sustainably reverse global climate change, it is vital that this growth not only continues but also increases further. A precondition for this is a significant reduction in the cost of manufacturing PV modules. A highly promising approach for lowering costs is the in-line production of solar cells, in order to reduce the complex handling between processing steps to a minimum. In addition, the use of PVD technologies means that coating costs of at maximum a few euros per square meter can be expected. One goal of the project is to evaluate the suitability of magnetron sputtering for depositing silicon-absorber layers for solar cells. The suitability of this technology for producing solar cells, and in particular its potential for reducing costs, will be investigated and where necessary processes will be optimized. The second goal of the planned project is to study the deposition of top layers for thin-film solar cells having barrier and AR properties, specially tailored to the requirements for this application. Reactive pulse magnetron sputtering in combination with novel methods for in-situ monitoring of coating processes will be used for this.