Developments in Crystalline Silicon Solar Cells

This chapter contains sections titled: The majority of solar cells fabricated to date have been based on silicon in monocrystalline or large-grained polycrystalline form, with the latter often referred to as “multicrystalline“ silicon. There are two main reasons for this. One is that silicon is an elemental semiconductor with good stability and a well-balanced set of electronic, physical and chemical properties, the same set of strengths that have made silicon the preferred material for microelectronics. The second is that the success of silicon in microelectronics created an enormous industry where the economies of scale have directly benefited the early growth of the then smaller photovoltaics industry. This chapter discusses recent developments in crystalline silicon solar cells that have involved higher efficiency, larger ingots and thinner wafers, and on a better understanding of such prevalent defects as those associated with boron-oxygen complexes.