Mass-adoption of thin-film silicon (TF-Si) photovoltaic modules as a renewable energy source can be viable if the cost of electricity production from the module is competitive with conventional energy solutions. Increased module performance (electrical power generated) is an approach to reduce this cost. Progress towards higher conversion efficiencies for 'champion' large area modules paves the way for mass-production module performance to follow. At TEL Solar AG, Trübbach, Switzerland, significant progress in the absolute stabilized module conversion efficiency has been achieved through optimized solar cell design that integrates high-quality amorphous and microcrystalline TF-Si-deposited materials with efficient light management and transparent conductive oxide layers in a tandem MICROMORPH ™ module. This letter reports a world record large area (1.43 m 2 ) stabilized module conversion efficiency of 12.34% certified by the European Solar Test Installation; an increase of more than 1.4% absolute compared with the previous record for a TF-Si triple junction large area module. This breakthrough result generates more than 13.2% stabilized efficiency from each equivalent 1 cm 2 of the active area of the full module.

No abstract

Providing two-thirds of the total stabilized power of thin-film tandem MICROMORPH TM technology, the amorphous junction remains a key element in the quest for higher efficiencies. This paper reports and summarizes a considerable work to achieve a record large-area amorphous silicon single-junction photovoltaic module. New hardware has been developed and known process steps have been accurately tuned and combined with new features of cell design. Effort was focused on the deposition of high-quality and low-defect a-Si:H layers that has promoted an improved device stability and resistance against light induced degradation. Efficient light management has been used, and module design has been revised. The word-record performance reported in this paper for a large-area (1.43 m 2 ) stabilized module conversion efficiency (total area) was measured and certified by Swiss PV Module Test Center to be 9.1%.

No abstract

No abstract