THIN-FILM SILICON SOLAR-CELLS ON GLASS BY SUBSTRATE THINNING

We report on the fabrication of thin film Si solar cells on glass by substrate thinning. We use thin Si films grown on thick Si substrates by either liquid phase epitaxy or chemical vapour deposition. A novel solar cell device fabrication process is then applied to the structure, in which the Si is thinned down to 20-30 mum leaving the grown Si film as the majority of the active material of the structure. We obtain a conversion efficiency of 14.4% for such a thin film Si solar cell on glass.