Solar Thin Film

Solar thin films have the same photovoltaic cells but in a thin semiconductor glass or plastic. Thin photovoltaic cells are fragile, ranging from 0.22 to 1.22 mm. The delicate nature gives these photovoltaic cells peak flexibility and feather-weight. You can power a lot of devices with these thin photovoltaic cells. The best use of these cells is charging your vehicle battery when it is not in use. You might have seen small solar panels which help charge calculators which sunlight. The concept of thin solar films comes from the same place.

The various major advantages of using solar thin-film are-

• The cost of thin panels is thirty percent lower than crystalline panels.
• Thin solar panels are very portable and versatile, making them incredible for mobile use. 
• The flexibility and portability give thin solar panels a lot of valuable placement benefits over crystalline solar panels.
• Since thin solar panels power small devices, they do not pick and discharge a lot of energy at once, making them incredibly efficient.

What are the essential components of thin solar panels

A thin photovoltaic solar panel comes with various essential components. But the core components are as follows-

• Photovoltaic cells- photovoltaic cells are the most responsible party in the apparatus as they produce electricity from sunlight. When you see a grid of cells in a thin-film solar panel, you can know that a single rectangle works as a single producer. The whole bracket of photovoltaic cells together produces 12 or 24 volts of energy. 

• Combiner box- The combiner box helps you connect one or more solar thin films into a single apparatus. You have to wire the panels into the combiner terminal directly simply. You can use a soldering tool to join the wires and create a stable connection permanently. 

• Charge controller- Charge controllers help you change how much power every solar panel produces. You can balance the production to manage thermal and charges to prevent instability. 

Thin-film solar panels have many advantages, but they still aren’t perfect. They do come with some significant advantages and disadvantages which differentiates them from other renewable energy production systems-

Advantages-

1. The cost of thin-film panels is thirty percent less than actual crystalline panels. 
2. The flexibility allows you to place panels under challenging places creatively. 
3. Solar thin films can efficiently charge small devices without generating too much heat. 
4. Solar thin-film panels do not get overly hot as thermal management is excellent for a thin frame. 
5. Thin-film panels are flexible and portable
6. Thin-film solar panels can lower your carbon footprint.
7. Solar energy is entirely renewable and requires no tax for consumption. 
8. Solar energy is the true definition of an infinite power resource. 

Disadvantages

• Production is not as strong as crystalline solar panels
• The durability is not as strong as crystalline solar panels
• Thin-film solar panels are significantly less stable in comparison to crystalline panels
• The installation is complex for thin-film panels because they do not have any initial frames

Thin-film solar panels first came to the market in the 1970s when some institute researchers demonstrated a calculator taking power from small strips of silicon. Thin-film solar panels came with significant advances in the solar panel market. In 2010 when the market started facing a lack of crystalline PV modules, thin-film solar panels took over 15 percent of the whole market.

Solar thin films consist of several different components which collaborate to convert sunlight into electricity. 

• Electrode zinc oxide
• Semiconductor negative layer- cadmium sulfide
• Semiconductor positive layer- copper indium gallium diselenide. 
• Electrode molybdenum. 

Thin-film solar panels come with numerous benefits, but there are also a few challenges to using them regularly:

• Thin-film solar panels are not quite as durable as crystalline solar panels
• The price of thin-film solar panels is significantly rising with the passage of days because of increasing manufacturing costs. 
• Thin-film solar panels are also quite not as efficient as crystalline solar panels. 
• Thin-film solar panels do not come in high power models.