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From: berryh@udel.edu (John Berryhill)
Newsgroups: sci.energy,sci.electronics,sci.physics
Subject: Re: solar cells
Message-ID: <40313@nigel.ee.udel.edu>
Date: 31 Dec 90 20:06:20 GMT
References: <1990Dec28.210436.10601@zoo.toronto.edu> <939@venice.SEDD.TRW.COM> <1990Dec29.063939.20478@zoo.toronto.edu>
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In article <1990Dec29.063939.20478@zoo.toronto.edu> henry@zoo.toronto.edu (Henry Spencer) writes:
>> silicon-based PVs can not last "forever" -- there is nothing to break 
>> down within the cell itself...
>
>Oh yes there is:  the cell.  There is a common misconception that
>semiconductor devices ought to be eternal; it is not true.  There are
>a variety of failure mechanisms...

Of all of your points, I least understand the significance of this one.
Name a single part in a diesel turbine that will last as long as a
single-crystal Si solar cell.  Heck, nuclear plants last roughly
30 years.

Comparing solar cells to laser diodes in terms of reliability is
stretching things quite a bit.  Of almost any semiconductor device
you could pick, laser diodes operate under the highest power
densities and thermal stress.  And, no, at the temperatures and electric
field strengths encountered in solar cells, diffusion of dopants is
not at all significant.

There are plenty of barriers to large-scale use of PV power.  Reliability
is not one of them.

--
							      John Berryhill
							    143 King William
							    Newark, DE 19711