aSi & aSi/µSi

The substrate construction of aSi- or aSi/µSi technology during step P2 and P3 makes use of the fact that front contact of transparent conductive oxides (TCO) is transparent to the green laser wavelength. The laser pulse penetrates the glass and TCO and is not absorbed until the semiconductor. The plasma generated explosively lifts the stack of layers above it while avoiding damage to the TCO layer.

Compared to aSi in aSi/µSi technology an additional microcrystalline silicon layer is deposited on the thin-film substrate. By combining the absorption spectrums of the two layers the combination of amorphous and microcrystalline silicon supplies more energy than purely aSi modules. With the minimal degrees of efficiency of the three technologies aSi/µSi modules are also relatively costly to manufacture. The virtually unlimited availability of silicon speaks for this technology.