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The main area for improvement of III-V thin film PV is increased conversion efficiency for concentrator PV systems, and manufacturing scale up.
EAG has a long and extensive history in the characterization of complex epitaxial films of compound semiconductor materials for lighting and high speed electronics applications. That knowledge and experience transfers directly to the analysis of multi-junction III-V solar cell film structures.
The main areas for improvement of CdTe thin film PV products are the cell and module efficiencies. Materials characterization using EAG surface analysis methods can be used to support R&D of efficiency improvements and also to monitor starting materials and production processes.
The main area for potential improvement of CIGS thin film PV is performance reliability and uniformity as manufacturing is scaled up. Materials characterization using surface analytical methods provided by EAG are used to support R&D for efficiency improvements and also production ramps.
Silicon wafer solar cells have been the mainstay of the PV industry. EAG has a range of analytical capabilities that can help silicon wafer solar cell manufacturers meet their key goals of increasing efficiency and reducing costs.
Amorphous Si (α-Si), microcrystalline Si (µc-Si), nanocrystalline Si (nc-Si), amorphous SiGe (α-SiGe), and microcrystalline SiC (µc-SiC), are all thin film materials that can be used in PV layer stacks ranging from simple α-Si thin film PV structures to more complex tandem and multi-junction thin film PV structures.
EAG offers two methods for evaluating PV Si feedstock in support of R&D, manufacturing, or for 3rd party verification of material: Glow Discharge Mass Spectrometry (GDMS) and Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry (SIMS).