Progress on DOE/BES-supported research on photovoltaics

A high-efficiency photovoltaic (PV) project involving several laboratories and universities was initiated in 1997 under the umbrella of the US Department of Energy (DOE) Center of Excellence for the Synthesis and Processing of Advanced Materials. The objectives of this project are to generate advances in fundamental scientific understanding that will impact the efficiency, cost and reliability of thin-film PV cells. The project is focused on two areas-silicon-based thin-film solar cells and next generation thin photovoltaics. This paper reviews the major accomplishments of this program.