Product Name:
Silicon Solar cells
iMeC is following an ambitious roadmap towards using thin silicon
wafers, while at the same time retaining the high effi ciencies and manufacturability
of the solar cells. the target is to reach an effi ciency of 19%
for 120μm multicrystalline si, in an industrial process.
to produce even thinner foils of silicon, iMeC is working on innovative
methods, such as a stress-induced lift-off technique.
iMeC is developing three thin-fi lm approaches:
epitaxial thin-fi lm solar cells
On low-cost highly-doped crystalline-silicon wafers, an epitaxial active layer is deposited
with a buried porous silicon refl ector between the layers.
thin-fi lm solar cells based on layer transfer
a thin layer of high-quality crystalline silicon is peeled from a parent substrate. the aim is
to do this repeatedly, so that the fi nal wafer cost per solar cell is low. iMeC is looking at
various layer transfer methods, both with and without epitaxy.
thin-fi lm polysilicon solar cells
a layer of only a few μm of crystalline silicon is deposited on a low-cost substrate. iMeC
is using thermal chemical-vapor deposition (CvD) on a heat-resistant substrate such as a
ceramic or high-temperature glass covered with a seed layer.
IMEC investigates several advanced and disruptive photovoltaic technologies in its unique processing infrastructure, with the ultimate
aim of enabling sustainable and affordable electrical power.
IMEC photovoltaic
technology:
For:
¬ Highly efficient thin crystalline Si solar cells
¬ Thin-film crystalline Si solar cells
¬ Organic solar cells
¬ Efficient photovoltaic stacks for solar concentration
¬ Thermophotovoltaic cells for co-generation
¬ Sustainable and low-cost generation of energy
¬ Fully autonomous ambient-intelligence devices
¬ Energy generation for satellites
¬ Efficient energy generation with solar concentrators