ABSTRACT
Crystalline silicon photovoltaic (PV) cells have very wide and largest usage among all types of solar cells the market offers. The highest energy conversion efficiency reported so far for research crystalline silicon PV cells is 25%. Standard industrial cells, however, remain limited to 15-18% with the exception of certain high-efficiency cells capable of efficiencies greater than 20%. High-efficiency research PV cells have advantages in performance but are often unsuitable for low-cost production due to their complex structures and the extended manufacturing processes. Even so, both high conversion efficiency and low processing cost can concurrently be achieved through the development of superior manufacturing technologies and equipment.
