Atomic Layer Deposition for crystalline silicon solar cells:Innovate at the nanoscale, deploy at the gigawatt scale

Over the last decade, solar energy has boomed with an annual production already exceeding 140 gigawatts. This market is dominated by crystalline silicon cells, for which innovations at the nanoscale have been key to enabling higher cell efficiency at low cost. Atomic layer deposition is very much present in the research for nanolayer innovations, as ALD provides a platform to prepare these nanolayers with atomic-level precision and control. Meanwhile, nanoscale ALD layers are also deployed at the gigawatt scale, with Dutch companies and universities playing a pioneering role in scaling up. In this perspective article, I will show where ALD nanolayers can be found in the solar cells you buy today, and which future innovations are expected