Monolithic solar cell panel of amorphous silicon

Abstract A monolithic solar cell panel has been fabricated using hydrogenated amorphous silicon ( a -Si:H) as the semiconductor material. This device consists of a plate glass substrate bearing a number of long, narrow, parallel cells electrically connected in series along the lengths of the cells. It features several characteristics which make it uniquely attractive for large area devices (up to several m 2 ): low internal power losses, due to lower current at a higher voltage; high fraction of active cell area, due to the absence of metallic grids; no basic device size limit; low cost and ease of fabrication. A device consisting of 9 cells and having an active area of 36 cm 2 , open circuit voltage of 6.5 V and efficiency of 2.6 per cent is described.