Physics of ultrathin photovoltaics

摘要

The authors consider physical properties of ultrathin photovoltaics with thickness (approx < 1 μm) smaller than both the depletion width and diffusion length, applicable to the cases of amorphous, polycrystalline, and nanostructured devices. Three phenomena underlie the unique physics of such systems: (1) lateral screening by conducting electrodes, (2) leakiness due to defect assisted tunneling, and (3) gigantic capacitive energy conducive to shunting breakdown. The authors give numerical estimates and discuss practical implications of these phenomena.