Amorphous Silicon

Amorphous Silicon
Amorphous Solids ,like common glass, are materials whose atom are not arranged in any particular order.They don't form crystalline structures at all, and they contain large numbers of structural and bonding defects,but they have some economic advantages over other materials that make them appealing for use in solar electric, or photovoltaic(PV)systems.
In 1974,reseachers began to realize that they could use amorphous silicon in PV devices by properly controlling the condition under which it is deposited and by carefully modifying its composition.Today,amorphous silicon is common is solar-powered consumer devices that have lower power requirments, such as wristwatches and calculators.
Amorphous silicon absorbs solar radiation 40times more efficiently than does single-crystal silicon,so a film only about 1 micrometer or one one-millionth of a meter-thick can absorb 90% .of the usable light energy shinning on it.This is one of the chief reason that amorphous silicon could reduce the cost of photovoltaics.other economic advantage are that it can be produced at lower temperatures and can be deposied on low-cost substrates such as plastic,glass,and metal.This makes amorphous silicon ideal for building-intergrated PV Products like the one shown in the photo.And these characteristics make amorphous silicon the leading thin film pv material.