Overview

Date: June 11, 2019
Time: 1:00 p.m.-5:00 p.m. EDT
Cost: $250 (AVS Member) | $300 (Non-Member)
This Webinar will begin with a review of evolving growth in energy use, with specific emphasis on electricity generation and use in the United States, and expected future penetration of solar-derived energy sources. Thin-film photovoltaic (PV) technologies will be distinguished from other solar technologies, such as solar-thermal and crystalline-Si PV. Present markets and major advantages/disadvantages of thin-film PV will be identified and briefly discussed. The main body of the webinar will use a combination of personal experiences and literature reports to describe the technical foundations of the present three major commercial thin-film PV module technologies (i.e., amorphous Si-based PV, CulnSe2-based PV, and CdTe-based PV). A brief discussion of some current but pre-commercial technologies (e.g., perovskite-based PV) will also be included. Descriptions will provide insight into historically perceived advantages for each technology, and the extent that these advantages may have been realized to date. The webinar will conclude with guidance related to long-term sustainability of thin-film PV technologies, including discussions of module reliability, energy pay back time, mineral resource availability, and relative toxicity.

Who Should Attend

This webinar is designed for technologists, researchers, and/or students interested in developing a broader understanding of both evolving markets and technical apsects of present and developing thin-film PV technologies. Some previous exposure to knowledge of semiconductor materials and related junction functionality would be helpful, but not necessary for the majority of the content that will be presented in this course.

Save with AVS Membership

Save $50 per AVS Webinar with an AVS Membership. The savings from just two webinars is equivalent to the price of an annual AVS Membership, which provides discounts on conferences/short courses as well as access to the AVS publications and technical libraries, career services, and more. Don’t miss out on these savings. Contact Angela Klink, AVS Membership Administrator, angela@avs.org, for your discount code.

Presenter

Syllabus

I. Background, References, and Outline
    A. Brief history of the ~20-year evolution of this course
    B. Some suggested general review references
    C. Course outline

II. Understanding Growth and Evolution of Energy Technologies
    A. Appreciating the importance of exponential growth as related to energy
    B. Where energy comes from and where it goes - U.S. Energy 101
    C. The likely role of PV when combined with advanced storage technologies

III. Crystalline-Si PV vs. Thin-Film PV
    A. Recent history of Crystalline SI and Thin-Film PV Products
    B. Reasons for the recent rise of Crystalline Si PV - relative to Thin-Film PV
    C. Reasons for the continuing interest in Thin-Film PV

IV. Materials and General Aspects of Thin-Film PV Technologies
    A. Polycrystalline materials, junctions, substrates, weight and flexibility
    B. Aspects of module design and Production
    C. Transparent conducting oxides
 
V. Overviews of Present Thin-Film PV Technologies
    A. Amorphous-Si based thin-film PV
    B. Chalcogen-based thin-film PV (i.e., CdTe-based)
    C. Chalcopyrite-based thin-film PV (i.e., CIGS-based)
    D. Kesterite-based thin-film PV (i.e., CZTS-based)
    E.  Perovskite-based thin-film PV
 
VI. Long-Term Sustainability Considerations
    A. Present and future reliability of thin-film PV
    B. Mineral resource availability for thin-film PV technologies
    C. Relative toxicity considerations for thin-film PV technologies
    D. The importance of energy pay back time

VII. Summary and Future Challenges
 
 

Other AVS Events

 
April 4-5, 2019, Leuven, Belgium
 
July 21-24, 2019, Bellevue, Washington
 
October 20-25, 2019, Columbus, Ohio
Call for Abstracts Deadline: May 1, 2019