Thin film photovoltaics

Conference · Mon May 01 00:00:00 EDT 1989

OSTI ID:6123960

Zweibel, K; Ullal, H S

Thin films are considered a potentially attractive technological approach to making cost-effective electricity by photovoltaics. Over the last twenty years, many have been investigated and some (cadmium telluride, copper indium diselenide, amorphous silicon) have become leading candidates for future large-scale commercialization. This paper surveys the past development of these key thin films and gives their status and future prospects. In all cases, significant progress toward cost-effective PV electricity has been made. If this progress continues, it appears that thin film PV could provide electricity that is competitive for summer daytime peaking power requirements by the middle of the 1990s; and electricity in a range that is competitive with fossil fuel costs (i.e., 6 cents/kilowatt-hour) should be available from PV around the turn of the century. 22 refs., 9 figs.

• Research Organization: Solar Energy Research Inst., Golden, CO (USA)
• DOE Contract Number: AC02-83CH10093
• OSTI ID: 6123960
• Report Number(s): SERI/TP-211-3501; CONF-890815-4; ON: DE89009425
• Conference Information: 24. intersociety energy conversion engineering conference, Washington, DC, USA, 7-12 Aug 1989
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

14 SOLAR ENERGY
140501* -- Solar Energy Conversion-- Photovoltaic Conversion
AMORPHOUS STATE
ARSENIC COMPOUNDS
ARSENIDES
CADMIUM COMPOUNDS
CADMIUM SULFIDES
CADMIUM TELLURIDES
CHALCOGENIDES
COPPER COMPOUNDS
COPPER SELENIDES
COPPER SULFIDES
COST
DIRECT ENERGY CONVERTERS
ELECTRIC POWER
ELEMENTS
FILMS
GALLIUM ARSENIDES
GALLIUM COMPOUNDS
GLASS
HISTORICAL SURVEY
INDIUM COMPOUNDS
INDIUM SELENIDES
INORGANIC PHOSPHORS
MATERIALS
METALS
MOLYBDENUM
OXIDES
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
PHOSPHORS
PHOTOELECTRIC CELLS
PHOTOVOLTAIC CELLS
PHOTOVOLTAICS
PNICTIDES
POWER
SELENIDES
SELENIUM COMPOUNDS
SEMICONDUCTOR MATERIALS
SEMIMETALS
SILICON
SOLAR ENERGY
SULFIDES
SULFUR COMPOUNDS
TECHNOLOGY ASSESSMENT
TELLURIDES
TELLURIUM COMPOUNDS
THIN FILMS
TRANSITION ELEMENT COMPOUNDS
TRANSITION ELEMENTS
ZINC COMPOUNDS
ZINC OXIDES