Solar Fabric Based on Amorphous Silicon Thin Film Solar Cells on Flexible Textiles

Jonathan Plentz (), Uwe Brückner, Gabriele Schmidl, Annett Gawlik, Klaus Richter and Gudrun Andrä
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Jonathan Plentz: Leibniz Institute of Photonic Technology (Leibniz IPHT), Albert-Einstein-Strasse 9, 07745 Jena, Germany
Uwe Brückner: Leibniz Institute of Photonic Technology (Leibniz IPHT), Albert-Einstein-Strasse 9, 07745 Jena, Germany
Gabriele Schmidl: Leibniz Institute of Photonic Technology (Leibniz IPHT), Albert-Einstein-Strasse 9, 07745 Jena, Germany
Annett Gawlik: Leibniz Institute of Photonic Technology (Leibniz IPHT), Albert-Einstein-Strasse 9, 07745 Jena, Germany
Klaus Richter: ITP GmbH—Gesellschaft für Intelligente Textile Produkte, Hans-Knöll-Strasse 6, 07745 Jena, Germany
Gudrun Andrä: Leibniz Institute of Photonic Technology (Leibniz IPHT), Albert-Einstein-Strasse 9, 07745 Jena, Germany

Energies, 2025, vol. 18, issue 6, 1-10

Abstract: Three-dimensional flexible solar fabrics based on hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) thin film solar cells were prepared and characterized. A glass fiber fabric with a polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) coating proved to be a suitable textile substrate. Interwoven metal wires enable an integrated electrical interconnection. An array of solar cells consisting of an a-Si:H layer stack with a highly p-type/intrinsic/highly n-type doping profile was deposited onto it. Silver was used as the back contact with indium tin oxide (ITO) as the front contact. The best solar cells show an efficiency of 3.9% with an open-circuit voltage of 876 mV and a short-circuit current density of 11.4 mA/cm 2 . The high series resistance limits the fill factor to 39%. The potential of the textile solar cells is shown by the achieved pseudo fill factor of 79% when neglecting the series resistance, resulting in a pseudo efficiency of 7.6%. With four textile solar cells connected in a series, an open-circuit voltage of about 3 V is achieved.

Keywords: smart textiles; flexible solar fabric; solar energy; thin film solar cells; amorphous silicon (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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