Crystalline silicon (c-Si) photovoltaics has long been considered energy intensive and costly. Over the past decades, spectacular improvements along the manufacturing chain have made c-Si a low-cost source of electricity that can no longer be ignored. Over 125 GW of c-Si modules have been installed in 2020, 95% of the overall photovoltaic (PV) market, and over 700 GW has been cumulatively installed. There are some strong indications that c-Si photovoltaics could become the most important world electricity source by 2040–2050. In this Review, we survey the key changes related to materials and industrial processing of silicon PV components. At the wafer level, a strong reduction in polysilicon cost and the general implementation of diamond wire sawing has reduced the cost of monocrystalline wafers. In parallel, the concentration of impurities and electronic defects in the various types of wafers has been reduced, allowing for high efficiency in industrial devices. Improved cleanliness in production lines, increased tool automation and improved production technology and cell architectures all helped to increase the efficiency of mainstream modules. Efficiency gains at the cell level were accompanied by an increase in wafer size and by the introduction of advanced assembly techniques. These improvements have allowed a reduction of cell-to-module efficiency losses and will accelerate the yearly efficiency gain of mainstream modules. To conclude, we discuss what it will take for other PV technologies to compete with silicon on the mass market.

长期以来，晶体硅 (c-Si) 光伏一直被认为是能源密集型和昂贵的。在过去的几十年中，制造链上的显着改进使 c-Si 成为一种不能再被忽视的低成本电力来源。2020年c-Si组件安装量超过125GW，占整个光伏市场的95%，累计安装量超过700GW。有一些强有力的迹象表明，到 2040-2050 年，c-Si 光伏可能成为世界上最重要的电力来源。在这篇评论中，我们调查了与硅光伏组件的材料和工业加工相关的关键变化。在晶圆层面，多晶硅成本的大幅下降以及金刚石线锯的普遍实施降低了单晶晶圆的成本。在平行下，各种晶圆中的杂质和电子缺陷浓度已降低，从而实现了工业设备的高效率。生产线清洁度的提高、工具自动化程度的提高以及生产技术和电池架构的改进都有助于提高主流模块的效率。电池级别的效率提升伴随着晶圆尺寸的增加和先进组装技术的引入。这些改进减少了电池到模块的效率损失，并将加速主流模块的年度效率增益。最后，我们讨论了其他光伏技术在大众市场上与硅竞争所需的条件。生产线清洁度的提高、工具自动化程度的提高以及生产技术和电池架构的改进都有助于提高主流模块的效率。电池级别的效率提升伴随着晶圆尺寸的增加和先进组装技术的引入。这些改进减少了电池到模块的效率损失，并将加速主流模块的年度效率增益。最后，我们讨论了其他光伏技术在大众市场上与硅竞争所需的条件。生产线清洁度的提高、工具自动化程度的提高以及生产技术和电池架构的改进都有助于提高主流模块的效率。电池级别的效率提升伴随着晶圆尺寸的增加和先进组装技术的引入。这些改进减少了电池到模块的效率损失，并将加速主流模块的年度效率增益。最后，我们讨论了其他光伏技术在大众市场上与硅竞争所需的条件。电池级别的效率提升伴随着晶圆尺寸的增加和先进组装技术的引入。这些改进减少了电池到模块的效率损失，并将加速主流模块的年度效率增益。最后，我们讨论了其他光伏技术在大众市场上与硅竞争所需的条件。电池级别的效率提升伴随着晶圆尺寸的增加和先进组装技术的引入。这些改进减少了电池到模块的效率损失，并将加速主流模块的年度效率增益。最后，我们讨论了其他光伏技术在大众市场上与硅竞争所需的条件。