Crystalline Silicon Photovoltaics: State of Industrial Realization and Future Perspectives

Gerhard Willeke Fraunhofer-Institut für Solare Energiesysteme ISE, Heidenhofstr. 2, 79110 Freiburg, Germany e-mail: gerhard.willeke@ise.fraunhofer.de URL: http://www.ise.fraunhofer.de

The 21st century is the century of global energy transition towards the efficient use of more and more renewable energies. Among the renewables the unlimited solar energy and there in particular solar photovoltaics plays a decisive role. This semiconductor technology recently attracted a lot of attention because of large price reductions and corresponding large market growth rates.

The presentation analyzes the state-of-the-art in the industrial implementation of this technology with a focus on the market leader crystalline silicon. It discusses actual research trends and potentials. The current situation with high concentration ultra-high efficiency III-V semiconductor photovoltaics is also highlighted.