Development and application of see-through a-Si solar cells

Abstract A new type of translucent amorphous silicon (a-Si) solar cell, called the see-through a-Si solar cell, is developed. It has multiple microscopic holes within its effective area to transmit light and it generates electric power. A series of technical data on the fabrication processing with various patterning and photovoltaic performance are presented. Some examples of application systems such as car sunroof and home interior are introduced and discussed on a wide variety of new areas of PV applications. The see-through a-Si solar cell was mounted on a car sunroof to drive the car's ventilating system or to charge its battery. The ventilating system reduced the interior temperature of the car from 61 to 47°C during daytime parking.