Crystalline Silicon vs. Amorphous Silicon: the Significance of Structural Differences in Photovoltaic Applications

Abstract

Firstly, the paper briefly introduces the structure of crystalline silicon, amorphous silicon, and hydrogenated amorphous silicon and highlights the structural differences. Then, the paper presents a feature-by-feature based comparison between c-Si solar cells and a-Si solar cells. What roles different structures of silicon play in each PV characteristic are subsequently explored. In the end, based on these previously analyzed features, this paper further discusses circumstances in which the use of either c-Si or a-Si solar cells may be appropriate, the use of c-Si solar cells is more appropriate, and the use of a-Si solar cells is more appropriate. In short, the outstanding conversion efficiency and user-friendly cost of crystalline silicon solar cells prove successful, while the disturbing nature of amorphous silicon solar cells demonstrates several optical and electrical properties, like high absorption coefficient and Staebler-Wronski Effect, never before anticipated.