This document discusses thin-film solar cells, which are made by depositing one or more thin layers of photovoltaic material onto a substrate using techniques like chemical vapor deposition. It was developed at MIT using this process to deposit materials onto flexible substrates like paper. Chemical vapor deposition is used to produce high-quality solid thin films and is commonly used in the semiconductor industry. Thin-film solar cells aim to reduce costs compared to conventional solar panels by using less material and creating lightweight, flexible designs.

1. Prepared By
Mr.P.Karthikeyan
AP/EEE/KEC

11.  A thin-film solar cell is a second generation solar
cell that is made by depositing one or more thin
layers of photovoltaic material on a substrate,
such as glass, plastic or metal
 It is a research technology
 It was created at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
 In MIT, Solar cells are manufactured by depositing
photovoltaic material on flexible substrates, such as
ordinary paper, using chemical vapor deposition technology

12.  Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD) is
a chemical process used to produce high
quality, high-performance, solid materials
 The process is often used in
the semiconductor industry to produce thin
films
 Developed by a group of researchers from
the Massachusetts Institute of Technology with support
from the National Science Foundation and the Eni-MIT
Alliance Solar Frontiers Program

13.  In conventional solar panels, the supporting
structures of the panel like glass, brackets
etc. are mostly twice as costly as the
photovoltaic materials manufactured on them
 Conventional solar cells are bulky and rigid,
but building lightweight, flexible cells has
come with trade-offs in efficiency and
robustness
 Tiny silicon solar cells could produce devices
that don’t suffer these trade-offs

14. • A thin film of semiconductor is deposited by low cost methods.
• Less material is used.
• Cells can be flexible and integrated directly into roofing
material.
Glass Superstrate
Transparent Conducting Oxide
N-type CdS
P-type CdTe
Metal
3~8 um
0.1 um
0.05 um
~1000 um