Amorphous

Thin-layer solar panels

Placing one or more layers of photovoltaic material on a surface is the basis of the production of thin-walled solar cells. Different types of thin film photovoltaic cells can be categorized by the photovoltaic material that is applied to the substrate:

- Amorphous silicas (a-Si)
- Cadmium telluride (CdTe)
- Copper indium / gallium / selenide (CIS / CIGS)
- Organic Photovoltaic Cells (OPC)
Depending on the technology, the prototypes of the thin-film modules have reached efficiency between 7-13%. The masses are about 9%. For the future, efficiency is expected to rise to about 10-16%.

 

The market for thin film PV panels has increased by 60% per annum from 2002 to 2007. In 2011, 5% of the photovoltaic module supply for the residential sector is thin film. / US statistics /

Advantages:

  • Mass production is easy, making them cheaper than crystal PV panels.
  • Their homogeneous color makes them aesthetic.
  • They can be flexible, making them more suitable for non-standard applications.
  • High temperatures and shading have less impact on their performance.


Disadvantages:

  • Because of their lower performance, they take up more space for 1kW installed power, making them unsuitable for places where space is limited. Monocrystalline PV panels produce up to 4 times more energy than thin films.
  • Taking more space also involves an increase in construction and wiring costs.
  • Thin-layer PV modules tend to degrade faster than mono- and polycrystalline photovoltaic panels, so they usually have a shorter warranty.


Amorphous silicon (a-Si) solar panels

Since the output power of these cells is small, they are mostly used for small consumers such as pocket calculators. However, the latest technologies extend their application. A technique called "stacking" enters, which increases the CPD to 6-8%. However, this accumulation is even more expensive.

 

Cadmium telluride (CdTe) PV panels

This is the only technology for thin-film PV panels with such high efficiency - 9-11% of their value. The bottom line is that cadmium is toxic in larger quantities.

 

Copper indium / gallium / selenide (CIS / CIGS) PV modules

Compared with other thin film technologies, CIGS solar panels showed the greatest potential in terms of efficiency. They contain less of the toxic cadmium and can also be flexible. Their effectiveness is about 10-12%.

Conclusion on thin-film PV panels: Many types of thin film technology are being developed to make photovoltaic systems more and more accessible to the public. Some of these technologies have tremendous potential.