Oerlikon Solar
Thin Film Silicon Solar Technology
Cell structure of a Thin Film Silicon Solar Module
Oerlikon Solar's applied technologies for the mass production of thin film silicon solar modules consist of different processes to deposit transparent conductive oxide (TCO) layers for front and back contacts, plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) to build the photosensitive layers and laser patterning to generate the serially connected cells.
For the photosensitive layer, Oerlikon Solar offers two production technologies, including:
- Amorphous Solar Modules - This very cost effective solar cell is made by depositing amorphous silicon (a-Si) on the TCO layer.
- Micromorph® Solar Modules - In addition to the a-Si layer, the Micromorph® cell has a tandem structure with an additional microcrystalline absorber. This layer converts the energy of the red and near infrared spectrum, allowing an efficiency increase of approximately 30%. Oerlikon Solar's production solution permits a modular upgrade from the single a-Si cell to the Micromorph® tandem cell.
 Amorph and Micromorph® cell cross-sections |  Spectral efficiency comparing amorph and Micromorph® cell technology |