Programm Photovoltaik Ausgabe 2009 ... - Bundesamt für Energie BFE

Département fédéral de l’environnement,
des transports, de l’énergie et de la communication DETEC
Office fédéral de l’énergie OFEN
ATHLET - ADVANCED THIN FILM
TECHNOLOGIES FOR COST
EFFECTIVE PHOTOVOLTAICS
Annual Report 2008
Author and Co-Authors N. Wyrsch, C. Ballif
Institution / Company Institute of Microtechnology (IMT) / University of Neuchâtel
Address Rue A.L. Breguet 2, 2000 Neuchâtel
Telephone, E-mail, Homepage +41 (0) 32 718 33 57, nicolas.wyrsch@epfl.ch, www.unine.ch/pv
Project- / Contract Number ATHLET / IP 019670
Duration of the Project (from – to) 01.01.2006 – 31.12.2009
Date 10.12.2008
ABSTRACT
ATHLET (Advanced Thin Film Technologies for Cost Effective Photovoltaics) is a European integrated
project (IP) financed by the 6 th framework program. The consortium of 23 partners (and 5 associated
partners) from 11 EU countries is led by HMI Berlin. The consortium comprises also 3 Swiss
partners: IMT, Oerlikon Solar and the ETH Zurich. ATHLET’s main goal is to provide scientific and
technological basis for an industrial mass production of cost effective and highly efficient, environmentally
sound, large-area thin film solar cells and modules. It focuses thus in the development of
thin-film silicon solar cells and modules, as well as chalcopyrites cells and modules with Cd-free
buffer. The project aims at providing production and module concept for a price/efficiency ratio of
0.5 €/Wp or lower.
Regarding thin-film silicon, the project target is to develop micromorph tandem > 1 m 2 modules with a
stable efficiency of 10% fabricated at a deposition rate of at least 10 Å/s. In parallel, small area cells
will be further developed (next generation of cells) in order to reach a stable efficiency of 14%.
Within the third year, IMT work within Athlet was split on the further development of micromorph tandem
on small area and on the development of micromorph tandem cell components in an industrial
KAI-S and KAI-M reactors. Concerning the latter, a second chamber was put in operation on our double
chamber system and several plasma diagnostics were implemented. The work on small area focused
mainly on the improvement of the light management in the micromorph tandem, by introducing
anti reflection layers and optimizing the component cells and SiOx based intermediate layer thicknesses.
The initial efficiency was increased to a remarkable 13.3%. Further work needs to be done to
also gain in stable efficiency. In the KAI-M system, on large area, micromorph devices deposited at
1 nm/s could be fabricated with initial efficiency close to 11% and stable efficiency of 9.4%. Process
for the deposition of SiOx based intermediate layer was also transferred to KAI-M for the further improvement
of micromorph devices.
63/290