Thin film solar cells on honeycomb-structured substrates for photovoltaic building blocks

• Solar cells as building blocks need light weight and incidence angle insensitivity.
• As a prototype for this purpose, we propose honeycomb-like substrate with AAO.
• Incidence angle insensitivity in honeycomb-structured solar cells is demonstrated.
• Critical processing issues in honeycomb-structured solar cells are identified.
• Conformal deposition and surface smoothening layers are crucial in processing.

Honeycomb-structured solar cell is proposed for photovoltaic building block applications. Honeycomb-like substrates were prepared either by a conventional semiconductor processing or by a low cost wet-chemical method, and amorphous Si thin film solar cells were fabricated on these substrates. We have demonstrated one of the essential requirements for building block application, which is the low sensitivity of the light incidence angles on the power conversion efficiency; and we have identified the critical processing issues through the experimental study using various thin film deposition methods. This honeycomb-structured solar cell is a promising candidate for the future photovoltaic building block applications enabling the inherent high strength-to-weight ratio and higher efficiency at an oblique light incidence.

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