THIN FILM TECHNOLOGY

The newer thin film technology does not use technical silicon wafers; the functional layers are applied to a substrate - usually glass - via vacuum deposition. The processes involved are similar to those used in coating architectural glass or in the manufacture of flat screen televisions. The same basic design - front contact, absorber, and rear contact - is the same as the one used in crystalline technology, but the material and energy requirements of the manufacturing process are much lower. While the crystalline technology uses wafers of approximately 250µm, thin film technology absorbers are no more than a few micrometers thick. Thin film technology is gaining ground. Its market share is growing rapidly and currently stands at around 20 percent (2008; 2005: 5.8 percent, 2007: 14 percent).