Thin film operates on the principle that photovoltaic modules should be just that – thin. At 1.3 µm thick – less than 1% that of conventional crystalline silicon at 150-200 µm thick – thin film has shown a remarkable ability to approach, and in some cases even exceed the performance of crystalline silicon at a significantly lower cost.

There are three main viable high-efficiency thin film technologies: CdTe, CIGS, and a-Si / µc-Si. a-Si / µc-Si, the technology used by Astronergy, has the dual advantage of using environmentally safe and abundant silicon, and being able to take advantage of the tremendous silicon-based manufacturing infrastructure in the semiconductor industry. The end result is that the customer receives the best-quality product, manufactured through time-tested methods, for the lowest price.

a-Si / µc-Si is divided into two layers, an amorphous silicon (a-Si) layer, and a microcrystalline silicon (µc-Si) layer. The a-Si layer absorbs a certain portion of the electromagnetic spectrum in sunlight. What it does not absorb passes through and is absorbed by the µc-Si layer. In this way, the dual-layer configuration, termed “tandem-junction”, is able to absorb 50%+ more than a single-junction product with no stability issues.

Astronergy’s proprietary expertise and half a century of collective experience in thin film process technology, combined with its equipment partnership with leading thin film equipment manufacturer Oerlikon, makes it the leading manufacturer and innovation center for a-Si / µc-Si thin film in the world.