Thin film photovoltaics. Solutions for existing and future production lines

The photovoltaic industry experiences a fast-paced development. The rising demand of silicon increases the purchasing costs and therefore requires enormous efforts in material savings and high-yield manufacturing equipment. One of the advantages of thin film photovoltaics is the relatively small material consumption compared to the wafer based technologies. Thin film photovoltaic technology has left the laboratories towards mass production. Nevertheless, until now the market share of thin film modules in comparison to wafer based modules is comparatively small. Therefore photovoltaic conferences often do not focus on this technology, even though manufacturing sites with capacities of more than 100 MWp/year are currently in the planning phase. The workshop discusses challenges for thin film mass manufacturing both from the technical and the economical point of view. Representatives of leading manufacturers of photovoltaic products as well as equipment suppliers, manufacturing planners, and R&D organizations will present the latest developments in manufacturing.