Product Description

Silicon is a fourfold coordinated atom that is normally tetrahedrally bonded to four neighboring silicon atoms. In crystalline silicon (c-Si) this tetrahedral structure continues over a large range, thus forming a well-ordered crystal lattice. In amorphous silicon this long range order is not present. Rather, the atoms form a continuous random network. Moreover, not all the atoms within amorphous silicon are fourfold coordinated. Due to the disordered nature of the material some atoms have a dangling bond. Physically, these dangling bonds represent defects in the continuous random network and may cause anomalous electrical behavior. The material can be passivated by hydrogen, which bonds to the dangling bonds and can reduce the dangling bond density by several orders of magnitude. Hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) has a sufficiently low amount of defects to be used within devices such as solar photovoltaic cells, particularly in the protocrystalline growth regime Monocrystalline solar panels usually have the highest efficiency and power capacity out of all types of solar panels. Monocrystalline panel efficiencies can range from 17% to 20%. Because monocrystalline solar cells are made out of a single crystal of silicon, electrons can flow easier through the cell, which makes the PV cell efficiency higher than other types of solar panels. The higher efficiency of monocrystalline solar panels means that they require less space to reach a given power capacity. So, monocrystalline solar panels will usually have a higher power output rating than either polycrystalline or thin-film modules.