Your daily dose of photovoltaic technology developments and solar news

• Popular Technical Papers

  • Overview of automation in the photovoltaic industry
  • Understanding moisture ingress and packaging requirements for photovoltaic modules
  • Evaluation of encapsulant materials for PV applications
  • Inline processing of crystalline silicon solar cells: the holy grail for large-scale manufacturing?
  • PV sector outlook: an analyst’s perspective

• Featured Technical Papers

  • Transparent conducting oxide deposition techniques for thin-film photovoltaics
  • Comprehensive and advanced quality assurance measures for optimal yields from PV power plants
  • Surface passivation of silicon solar cells using industrially relevant Al2O3 deposition techniques
  • Influence of a-Si:H deposition temperature on thermal stability of a-Si:H/SiNx:H stacks
  • Integrated loops: a prerequisite for sustainable and environmentally-friendly polysilicon production

The rapid growth of the solar energy industry owes its success to the development and production of mono- and multicrystalline solar cells. This growth has been limited in recent years due to the lack of available supply of polysilicon, the key raw material for making the wafers that serve as the basis of the solar cell. As a result of this limitation, the price of polysilicon has increased dramatically and this has led to significant new and planned capacity expansions. These new capacity expansion announcements have been highly publicised, with little additional outside focus on other chemicals and materials. This paper will examine technical and business aspects of the materials business as it relates to the flat plate solar industry, including the current situation on materials for crystalline silicon cells as well as other key chemicals and materials used in the production of various thin-film solar cells. In addition, we will discuss the types of chemicals and materials consumed and the business opportunities for electronic chemicals and materials suppliers.

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