Laser processing of materials for renewable energy applications
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REVIEW Laser processing of materials for renewable energy applications
Mool C. Gupta, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia 22904, USA David E. Carlson, Carlson PV, Williamsburg, Virginia 23185, USA Address all correspondence to Mool C. Gupta at [email protected] (Received 1 October 2014; accepted 18 March 2015)
ABSTRACT The significant advances in high-power lasers with the attainment of tens of kilowatts of optical power, high repetition rates (>MHz), reduction in size, lower cost per photon (30%) are driving the use of lasers for material processing for renewable energy materials. The significant advances in high-power lasers with the attainment of tens of kilowatts of optical power, high repetition rates (>MHz), reduction in size, lower cost per photon (30%) are driving the use of lasers for material processing with very high throughput. The use of renewable energy is also increasing as an alternative power source. This review examines the various aspects of laser processing for renewable energy materials and provides an overview of fundamentals of laser material interactions, advances in high-power lasers, and specific examples of laser processing of materials for photovoltaics, solar thermal energy, thermophotovoltaics, thermoelectrics, and thin films. High-power lasers have been adapted for solar cell manufacturing applications, and new processes such as laser doping, laser transfer of metal contacts, laser annealing, etc. are being advanced further for industrial applications. The future of laser processing for renewable energy materials looks very bright with further advances expected in high-power lasers, beam delivery systems, and decreasing cost with very high reliability. Lasers can provide noncontact localized energy deposition with the potential for all low-temperature processing of materials and a very low thermal budget. Keywords: photovoltaic; laser; energy generation
DISCUSSION POINTS • How can manufacturing costs for renewable energy systems be reduced? • Will the advances in high-power lasers lead to lower cost for renewable energy material processing? • What is the role of high-power lasers for material processing in solar cell manufacturing?
Introduction There is a growing interest in renewable energy sources1 such as solar, wind, biofuels, geothermal, etc. to meet the escalating energy needs and concern for environmental changes. Figure 1 shows the U.S. Department of Energy EERE budget allocations for various renewable energy sources from 2000 to 2014. The renewable energy sources are attractive but the cost of energy generation must be further lowered to be competitive with other sources of energy. The laser processing of materials has the potential to lower the manufacturing cost.
High-power lasers are already used in various manufacturing sectors such as aerospace, microelectronics, biomedical, automotive, and general manufacturing, and are expected to play an important role in various renewable energy applications. This rev
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