Flexible solar cell research is a research-level technology, an example of which was created

at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in which solar cells are manufactured by

depositing photovoltaic material on flexible substrates, such as ordinary paper,
using chemical vapor deposition technology.[1] The technology for manufacturing solar
cells on paper was developed by a group of researchers from the Massachusetts Institute
of Technology with support from the National Science Foundation and the Eni-MIT Alliance
Solar Frontiers Program.

Features[edit]
Circuits of organic photovoltaic materials are deposited in five layers on ordinary paper substrates
in a vacuum chamber. It is done by coating conformal conductive polymer electrodes with oxidative
chemical vapor, a process known as chemical vapor deposition. Such solar panels are capable of
producing voltages exceeding than 50V, which in turn can power appliances at normal lighting
conditions. The solar cell is also shown to be flexible.[2] The solar cell conductive grid is similar[citation
needed]
to an inkjet photo printout with patterned rectangles. When leads are attached to the electrical
substrate, it is shown to power electrical appliances. The cost of "printing" (as MIT describes it) is
claimed to be similar to that of inkjet photo printing.[3] This technology uses vapor deposition
temperatures of less than 120°C, which makes it easier to manufacture on ordinary paper.[3] The
current efficiency of the panel is near 1%, which the researcher hopes to improve in the near
future.[3]

Testing[edit]
The circuit was also tested by depositing the photovoltaic materials on a polyethylene
terephthalate (PET) substrate. The PET sheet was folded and unfolded 1000 times and no overt
deterioration in performance was observed,[citation needed] whereas common photovoltaic materials
deposited on PET deteriorated with just a single fold.[citation needed] The solar cell was also passed
through a laser printer to demonstrate its continued performance after exposure to [somewhat]
high temperatures and it still retained its characteristics after the procedure.[3]

Advantages[edit]
In conventional solar panels, the supporting structures of the panel like glass, brackets etc. are
mostly twice as costly as the photovoltaic materials manufactured on them. As paper costs
approximately a thousandth of glass, solar cells using printing processes can be much cheaper
than conventional solar panels.[3] Also other methods involving coating papers with materials
include first coating the paper with a smooth material to counter-act the molecular scale roughness
of paper. But in this method, the photovoltaic material can be coated directly onto untreated
paper.[3]

Applications[edit]
If such solar cells can achieve sufficient technological maturity, they can be used as wall paper
and window shades for producing electricity from room lighting. They can also be manufactured
on clothing, which can in turn be used to charge portable electronic devices like mobile phones
and media players.[1]
Flexible solar modules can be used on curved roofs, or roofs where it does not make sense to
install a rack mounting system.

Disadvantages[edit]
In order to last 20+ years outdoors exposed to the elements, such solar cells must be finished with
a front sheet of a UV-resistant fluoropolymer or thermoplastic olefin rather than the glass used in
conventional solar cells, which is comparatively inexpensive[citation needed]. Solar cells must be sealed
so water and oxygen cannot enter and destroy the cells via oxidative degradation.