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Japanese researchers announced that they have for the first time in the world developed techniques for producing solar cells by coating liquid silicon to form amorphous silicon films. New technologies will help reduce the cost of thin-film solar cells.
Silicon is an important raw material for making mobile phones, liquid crystals, and solar cells. At present, solar cells are mostly made of solid and gaseous silicon materials, but the cost of processing solid and gaseous silicon materials is high and the time required is longer.
A research team headed by Shimoda University of Science and Technology, Hokuriku University’s Institute of Advanced Science and Technology, in 2006 produced a stable liquid silicon with a high molecular compound containing silicon and hydrogen as a solute. This time, based on a thorough study of the characteristics of liquid silicon, they have developed a new technology for manufacturing thin-film solar cells.
New technology to produce solar cells first removes impurities from the liquid silicon, then drops the liquid silicon onto the glass substrate in a nitrogen-filled device, and allows the substrate to spin at a high speed of about 3,000 times per minute to evenly distribute the liquid silicon. A thin layer was formed on the substrate, and finally heated at a high temperature of about 400 degrees Celsius for several tens of seconds to obtain a stable amorphous silicon thin film.
By repeating the above process three times and adding components such as boron and phosphorus, three layers of silicon films having different properties can be produced. After adding electrodes to produce solar cells, its power generation efficiency is about 20% of ordinary solar cells. Although the efficiency is not high, the cost is reduced by 60% to 70%.
At present, the research team is preparing to cooperate with Japanese domestic manufacturers to apply this technology to the production field as soon as possible.