Basic Science Issues in the Development of Photovoltaics David E. Carlson Chief Scientist, BP Solar July 9, 2009
Projected PV Installations and Revenues Ø The PV industry has grown at CAGR of ~ 45% over the last decade. Ø However, 2009 looks to be tough year – i. Suppli predicts a 32% decrease in PV installations and a 12% decrease in prices in 2009. Ø Lux Research believes average selling prices may fall > 25% in 2009.
Forecast for PV Electricity Production Ø Sharp forecasts that PV will supply 10% of the world’s electricity by 2032 Ø Assuming a CAGR of 35% (average over the last few decades), the cumulative PV production would be ~ 3. 5 TWp by 2026. Ø 3 TWp of solar electricity will reduce carbon emissions by about 1 Gton per year (7 Gtons of carbon were emitted as CO 2 in 2000)
The Major Players Crystalline Si Ø Ø Ø Sharp Kyocera BP Solar Q-Cells Mitsubishi Solar. World Sanyo Schott Solar Isofoton Motech Suntech Evergreen Solar Ø GE Energy a-Si/µc-Si Ø Ø Ø United Solar Kaneka Fuji Electric Sharp Mitsubisihi Schott Solar AMAT licensees Sun. Tech Power. Film Opti. Solar EPV CIGS Ø Ø Ø Avancis Showa Shell Wurth Solar Day. Star Nanosolar Cd. Te Ø Ø First Solar Antec Solar AVA Prime. Star Solar v There are currently about 325 companies developing or producing solar cells. v Total PV production is forecasted to be ~10 GWp in 2009, but demand may only be ~ 3. 5 GWp (which can be met by top 10 companies).
The Typical Silicon Solar Cell Ø This device structure is used by most manufacturers today. • The front contact is usually formed by POCl 3 diffusion • The rear contact is formed by firing screen-printed Al to form a back-surface field Ø The cell efficiencies for screen-printed multicrystalline silicon cells are typically in the range of 14 – 17%.
Operation of a Solar Cell Ø The theoretical limit for a crystalline silicon solar cell is ~ 29%.
Research Needs for Photovoltaics Lower Costs Ø Efficiency improvements will help to lower costs of PV electricity Ø Low-cost storage required for significant penetration of the grid (> 10%) Ø In the case of silicon solar cells, there is a need for a high-quality, thin silicon wafer or sheet (10 – 50 m) that can be produced at low cost Ø Automated high throughput process with intelligent process control Ø We’ll need to replace silver contacts with lower cost materials such as copper or carbon-based materials (nanotubes? ) • At an annual production of ~ 154 GWp (~ 2016), the PV industry would be using the entire annual production of Ag (~ 19, 000 tons/yr) Ø Low-cost (i. e. abundant) materials must be incorporated into reliable, high performance PV modules and systems (annual total U. S. electricity demand is ~ 3 x 1012 k. Wh which can be met by PV arrays with an area of 100 miles x 100 miles in the U. S. Southwest).
PV Experience Curve Ø PV module prices have followed an experience curve with a slope of ~ 80% (a 20% decrease in price with every doubling of cumulative production).
Research Needs for Photovoltaics Efficiency Ø Efficiency is a major driver in reducing costs and meeting energy requirements in limited areas Ø Further efficiency improvements are possible with all PV technologies
Conversion Efficiencies vs. Time (NREL) Ø There has been steady progress in the improvement of conversion efficiencies for a number of PV technologies over the last few decades.
PV Module Conversion Efficiencies Modules Cells (Lab) Ø Dye-sensitized solar cells 3 – 5% 8. 2% Ø Amorphous silicon (multijunction) 6 - 8% 13. 2% Ø Cadmium Telluride (Cd. Te) thin film 8 - 10% 16. 5% Ø Copper-Indium-Gallium-Selenium (CIGS) 9 - 11% 19. 9% Ø Multicrystalline or polycrystalline silicon 12 - 15% 20. 3% Ø Monocrystalline silicon 14 - 16% 23. 4% Ø High performance monocrystalline silicon 17 - 20% 24. 7% Ø Triple-junction (Ga. In. P/Ga. As/Ge) cell (~ 250 suns) - 40. 7% Ø Triple-junction (Ga. In. P/Ga. In. As/Ge ) (454 suns) - 41. 1% ² For most PV technologies there is a large gap between the best laboratory efficiencies and those achieved in production PV modules
Paths to Ultra-High Conversion Efficiencies Ø Multijunction solar cells (currently used for some thin-film cells and for the highest efficiency cells) Ø Multiple absorption path solar cells (impact ionization, multiple exciton generation ) Ø Multiple energy level solar cells (localized levels or intermediate bands) Ø Multiple spectrum solar cells (up and down conversion of photons) Ø Multiple temperature solar cells (utilization of hot carriers) ² All these approaches have theoretical efficiency limits > 60%. ² The theoretical efficiency limit is > 80% for multijunction cells utilizing other high efficiency approaches.
Research Needs for Photovoltaics New Device Structures Ø A number of new devices structures have appeared over the years resulting in higher performance Ø Some devices utilize new materials in novel structures • e. g. dye-sensitized solar cells, bulk heterojunction organic solar cells, luminescent quantum dot concentrators, etc.
Sun. Power Back Contact Solar Cell Ø The Sun. Power cell has all its electrical contacts on the rear surface of the cell. Ø Production cells ~ 22. 4% efficiency; new prototypes at 23. 4%. Ø Diffusion lengths > 3 x cell thickness (using 145 m thick CZ-Si at end of 2008).
Sanyo HIT Solar Cell Ø The HIT cell utilizes amorphous Si intrinsic layers (~ 5 nm) as passivation layers. The cell is symmetric except for the a-Si p+ emitter layer (~ 10 nm) on the front and the a-Si n+ contact layer (~ 15 nm) on the rear. Ø Best lab efficiency = 22. 3% (open-circuit voltages as high as 739 m. V).
Delft Univ. of Technology Thin Film Silicon Solar Cells Ø Companies such as Sharp and Mitsubishi are developing variants of the micromorph solar cell. Ø Applied Materials and Oerlikon have each sold several manufacturing lines that can produce single-junction amorphous silicon and micromorph solar cells.
Cadmium Telluride Solar Cells Ø The Cd. S/Cd. Te heterojunction solar cell is typically formed by using a chemical bath technique to deposit the Cd. S and close space vacuum sublimation to deposit the Cd. Te. Ø Toxicity of Cd is perceived by some to be an issue. Ø Best lab efficiency = 16. 5%. Ø First Solar reports a manufacturing cost ~ $0. 94/Wp. Ø They’re selling modules at ~ $2/Wp. Ø They plan to have 570 MWp of capacity by the end of 2009.
Copper-Indium-Gallium-Diselenide Cell Ø NREL has demonstrated an efficiency of 19. 9% for the CIGS solar cell. Ø Typically requires relatively high temperature processing (> 500 C).
Spectrolab’s Triple-Junction Solar Cell Ø Spectrolab has reported a conversion efficiency of 40. 7% with this solar cell structure operating at ~ 250 suns. Ø More recently Fraunhofer ISE has obtained an efficiency of 41. 1% with a triple-junction cell operating at ~ 454 suns.
Research Needs for Photovoltaics Environmental Issues Ø Some photovoltaic materials are highly toxic and must be processed with appropriate safeguards and obsolete/damaged product should be recycled Ø Research on new materials and devices should define all potential hazards before commercialization Sustainability Ø Need to use materials that are plentiful - some PV materials may be constrained by availability when production reaches tens of GWp/yr; e. g. In (byproduct of Zn refining), Se and Te (byproducts of Cu refining)
Research Needs for Photovoltaics Reliability Ø Further reliabilty improvements are required in PV systems (inverters, batteries, etc. ) Ø Encapsulation is necessary to protect contacts, interconnects and some PV materials (crystalline silicon PV modules are warranted for 25 years) Ø Possible failure mechanisms must be identified for new PV materials and devices Diagnostics Ø There is a need for rapid characterization of critical parameters such as minority carrier lifetime, efficiency of light trapping, junction quality, etc. for quality control of production lines
Research Needs for Photovoltaics - Diagnostics Trupke et al. , 4 th World Conf. on PV (2006) Ø PL imaging can provide a high resolution map of the minority carrier lifetime of a silicon wafer in ~ 1 second
Research Needs for Photovoltaics Conclusions ² Many of us believe that photovoltaics could become the major energy source for the world in the later part of this century, but continued research and development are required in several areas: Ø PV system costs must be reduced significantly Ø Improved conversion efficiencies Ø Long-term reliability must be ensured for new PV materials & devices Ø Future PV systems should be environmentally benign
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