Improvements in Non-vacuum Deposition of Particulate Materials

Abstract

ABSTRACTOne of the most promising strategies for lowering the cost of photovoltaics (PV) is the use of thin-film technologies in which thin films are formed from particulate precursor materials deposited by non-vacuum techniques. The quality of particle-based PV thin films and in turn the sunlight-to-electricity conversion efficiencies and cost structures of devices based these films are strongly affected by the planarity and packing density of the layers of particles from which the films are formed and by the materials use efficiency of the processes used to deposit the layers. This paper reports progress made in depositing planar, well-packed layers of particles using non-vacuum spray deposition techniques.