文档介绍：NanoMarkets
thin film | organic | printable | electronics
Executive Summary
Thin Film Photovoltaics: The Opportunities
Although various niche marketsͶamong them electric fences, swimming pool heaters
and solar calculators have seen high rations of PV, these have not given the
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impression that thin-film PV (TFPV) could be the source of important business
opportunities. Until very recently, all of the important opportunities in photovoltaics
belonged to crystalline silicon wafers, arrayed in aluminum frames. However, a number
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governments and consumers alike is driving interest in applications from portable
chargers to solar fields. At the low end, TFPV'bination of light weight and low cost
meshes well with the boom in battery-driven portable electronics. Many of the world's
cell phones and puters are in the hands of people without regular access to
centralized power generation. For European road warriors and African entrepreneurs
alike, portable solar chargers make it easier to keep one's gadgets working while away
from the grid.
At the high end, the improving efficiency of the best thin-film solar cells makes them an
attractive option for integration with conventional roofing and building materials. Once
solar power breaks out of the c-S