Researchers at the Helmholtz Center Berlin (HZB) have taken
a leap forward towards a deeper understanding of an undesired effect in thin
film solar cells based on amorphous silicon – one that has puzzled the
scientific community for the last 40 years. The researchers were able to
demonstrate that tiny voids within the silicon network are partly responsible
for reducing solar cell efficiency by some 10 to 15 percent as soon as you
start using them. Their work has now been published in Physical Review Letters