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Research paper : Development of high efficiency flexible solar cells (A. Masuda )−200−Synthesiology - English edition Vol.4 No.4 (2012) was used as raw material gas, the water vapor transmission rate of 0.02 g/m2day was achieved in the barrier film formed at the deposition rate of 40 nm/min onto the PEN film. 6 Remaining issuesIt has been six years since the start of the “Flexible Solar Cell Substrates Consortium”, and the goals at research phases and laboratory levels were mostly achieved by accumulating the experiences and the findings of AIST and the participating companies. For product realization, the prototype fabrication at the solar cell company will become important. To replace the current base materials with the materials developed at the consortium, the design of the solar cell device structure may have to be changed, and the decisions of the solar cell company will become important. In the future, the stage will move to the development phase with actual application in view, through collaboration with the solar cell company that has participated as an observer from the initial research stage of the consortium. AIST, the participating companies, and the solar cell company started consideration for technological transfer to the solar cell company. Also, utilizing the consortium management method for the “Flexible Solar Cell Substrates Consortium”, the “Consortium Study on Fabrication and Characterization of Solar Cell Modules with Long Life and High Reliability” was established with 44 organizations including 33 private companies and the Photovoltaic Power Generation Technology Research Association, starting October 1, 2009, to engage in research to reduce the cost of photovoltaics through increased lifetime and reliability of the solar cell module, as well as the development of the accurate testing method to ensure reliability. Currently, we engage in R&D with the phase II consortium with 78 organizations including the private companies. The fusion of knowledge from wide-ranging fields from materials, processes, devices, and systems is necessary for the technological development of photovoltaics. In the field of photovoltaics, it is well known that the close industry-academia-government collaboration was done from the initial Sunshine Project that was started immediately after the First Oil Shock, and this bloomed as the current industry. Needless to say, the technological developments through the collaboration of various fields will become even more important for the further advancement of the photovoltaic industry. Moreover, as much as the technological development, for the continuous development of the industry, training of young people such as the researchers of the private companies, post-doctors, and students is important through on-the-job training in the industry-academia-government collaboration. We are working on the consortium management so the joint researches by the industry-academia-government collaboration in the consortium style conducted by the Research Center for Photovoltaic Technologies of AIST will contribute to the development of new technologies, technology transfer, and training of young researchers. AcknowledgementsThe research results of the “Flexible Solar Cell Substrates Consortium” described in this paper were obtained through the joint research with: Toshikazu Niki of Ishikawa Seisakusho, Ltd.; Joji Nobe and Susumu Kurishima of Kimoto Co., Ltd.; Yusuke Inoue and Hideo Umeda of Sumitomo Bakelite Co., Ltd.; Rei Nishio and Takashi Nakahiro of Teijin DuPont Films Japan Ltd.; Akihiko Hagiwara of Toshiba Machine Co., Ltd., Katsuhiko Katsuma and Seiichiro Hayakawa of The Nippon Synthetic Chemical Industry Co., Ltd.; Terutaka Tokumaru of Mitsubishi Gas Chemical Company, Inc.; and Yukiko Hara, Chizuko Yamamoto, Minoru Karasawa, Yoko Takeyama (currently, Tokyo Institute of Technology), and Nana Hozuki (currently, Photovoltaic Power Generation Technology Research Association) of AIST. For their valuable advice on this research, I am grateful to: Michio Kondo, director; Takashi Koida, senior researcher; and Takuya Matsui, senior researcher, Research Center for Photovoltaic Technologies, AIST. References[1]C. Ballif: 2nd Int. Plastic Electronics Conf. & Showcase, Frankfurt, 2006, 1.9.5.[2]M. Fonrodona, J. Escarré, F. Villar, D. Soler, J.M. Asensi, J. Bertomeu and J. Andreu: PEN as substrate for new solar cell technologies, Solar Energy Mater. Solar Cells, 89, 37-47 (2005).[3]Y. Inoue, H. Umeda, C. Yamamoto, A. Masuda and M. Kondo: Fabrication and characteristics of superstrate-type thin film silicon solar cells using organic-inorganic hybrid film, Extended Abstracts of the 57th Spring Meeting 2010, Japan Society of Applied Physics and Related Societies, 20a-TG-4 (2010) (in Japanese).AuthorAtsushi MasudaBorn 1966. Completed the masters course at the Graduate School of Engineering, Kanazawa University in 1992. Worked at the Corporate Research Labs, Fuji Xerox Co., Ltd. and became Research Fellow, Japan Society for the Promotion of Science. Completed the doctorate course at Graduate School of Natural Science and Technology, Kanazawa University in 1996. Doctor (Engineering). Research Associate of the School of Materials Science, Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology in 1996. Leader of Strategic Industrialization Team, Research Center for Photovoltaics, AIST in 2005, leader of Collaborative Research Team for Reliable Photovoltaic Modules in 2010, and leader of Collaborative Module-Reliability Research Team, Research Center for Photovoltaic Technologies in 2011.

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