Seventh Workshop on The Role of Impurities and Defects in Silicon Device Processing
The Seventh Workshop on the Role of Impurities and Defects in Silicon Device Processing, held August 11-13, 1997, in Vail, Colorado, was a great success. The workshop theme, `R{ampersand}D Issues for Crystalline Silicon to Support GW/yr Goal by the Year 2010,` provided a focus that proved both timely and stimulating. The workshop attracted 76 attendees from six countries, who participated in lively discussions of the issues. This is an upbeat time for the photovoltaic industry as sales passed 100 megawatts per year. The workshop revealed that worldwide R{ampersand}D in silicon PV is stronger than ever. The new thin-Si technologies are developing remarkably fast since the resurgence in their interest about 10 years ago. A number of groups around the world are reporting cell results with efficiencies above 9% from polycrystalline cells deposited on low-cost substrates. Conventional wafer and ribbon Si manufacturing costs continue to come down as new capacity is added. Detailed studies on manufacturing costs convincingly show, for the first time, that module manufacturing costs in the range of $0.70 to $1.90 per watt are achievable with manufacturing volumes per facility in the range of 100 to 500 megawatts per year. Such cost reduction will improve profitability and allow expansion into ever-larger markets. This encouraging prognosis for future technology, when coupled with the current climate of 20% market growth despite stable, or even increasing, module prices, signals the eminent emergence of PV as a vital, global industry. Exciting times indeed; one gigawatt per year is not so far away!
- Research Organization:
- National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Golden, CO (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE Assistant Secretary for Conservation and Renewable Energy, Washington, DC (United States); USDOE Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Washington, DC (United States)
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC36-83CH10093
- OSTI ID:
- 622871
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-970875-Summ.; NREL/CP-520-23549; ON: DE98001228; TRN: AD-a339 537
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: 7. workshop on the role of impurities and defects in silicon device processing, Vail, CO (United States), 11-13 Aug 1997; Other Information: PBD: Oct 1997
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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