Summary
Preliminary attempts have been made to grow non-hydrogenated a-Si films by evaporation in an ordinary vacuum system (ultimate pressure 10−6 Toor) fitted with a six-hearth electron gun and a substrate heater. This divergence from the original proposal was due to the fact that our RF sputtering system has not as yet been completed. The substrate temperature was varied from room temperature up to 400 °C, and the deposition rate for the a-Si films in the range of 5 to 40 Å/s. Studies of the film structure, using transmission electron microscopy, showed the characteristic features of amorphous material. n-type, p-type or intrinsic a-Si films were obtained when the evaporation source contained doped (n-type or p-type) or undoped pollycrystalline silicon respectively.
Regarding the second major research area of this program a system simulating the voltage current output characteristics of a photovoltaic array was designed and tested succesfully. The simulator has the advantages of low implementation cost and circuit simplicity. It is usable in the kilowatt power range.
Last, a maximum power transfer tracker was designed, constructed and tested. This system ensures the best dynamic matching between a PV array and the utility grid, making possible the maximum power transfer under all conditions. It is making use of relatively simple electronic circuitry and is implemented easily.
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© 1983 ECSC, EEC, EAEC, Brussels and Luxembourg
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Girginoudi, D. et al. (1983). Technology of Amorphous Silicon Thin Films for Solar Cells and Applications to Power Systems. In: Van Overstraeten, R., Palz, W. (eds) Photovoltaic Power Generation. Solar Energy R&D in the European Community, vol 3. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-7136-3_6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-7136-3_6
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-94-009-7138-7
Online ISBN: 978-94-009-7136-3
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