Structure design for single crystalline film Si solar cells

Mass production of thin-film solar cells can significantly reduce the cost of photovoltaic cells. Silicon is the most promising candidate for use in thin-film solar cells since it is one of the most abundant semiconductor materials on the earth. A three-terminal n(+)p/p(+)n thin-film single-crystalline Si solar cell was designed in this study. As compared with the control two-terminal structure, the three-terminal structure can have a larger open-circuit voltage, which results in a higher efficiency. This 3-mu m-thick three-terminal structure can achieve an efficiency of 11.21%. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.