Thin Film Solar Cells Manufacturing process?

Question

I am interested in learning what is the manufacturing process to make thin film solar cells? Could someone please guide me to the right place.

Is it possible to know a ballpark estimate on setting up the manufacturing plant?

Thanks in advance.

-- Sree

Answer 1

The link has lots more information on production of cells.

Thin film plants with the most well-developed technology will take slightly longer to get to volume production: possibly up to 12 months more to become fully operational and maybe several years more to run at full capacity. Critical factors are the delivery times on custom equipment for thin film deposition and processing, and the time to get manufacturing-related technology issues resolved before the process can be fully operational. Production may also be constrained by slower market up-take of the new technology-based product. Cell plants often have parallel lines of operation, each line can be brought on-stream in sequence. They do not operate to the strict cleanliness requirements of the microelectronics industry, but they come close to it.

In c-Si, wafers typically undergo a process sequence of etching, diffusion and screen-printing steps before they are tested and graded for incorporation into modules. For thin films, glass or stainless steel substrates are processed through steps of transparent conducting oxide deposition, semiconductor layer growth, laser scribing and metallization. The sequence is dependent on the substrate being used. Today's thin film plants are designed to handle large substrates (of meter scale dimensions) in sheet or roll form so the process equipment is much larger than for the wafer-based c-Si plants.

Answer 2

Do a Google search.  Lots of info.  Start here.

http://www.technologyreview.com/Energy/1...