GC: n

CT: Amorphous silicon (a-Si or a-Si:H) solar cells belong to the category of silicon thin-film, where one or several layers of photovoltaic material are deposited onto a substrate.
Some types of thin-film solar cells have a huge potential. These technologies are expected to grow rapidly in the coming years as they mature. In 2011, amorphous silicon solar cells represented about 3% of market.[1]
The word “amorphous” literally means shapeless. The silicon material is not structured or crystalized on a molecular level, as many other types of silicon-based solar cells are.
Most pocket calculators are powered by thin film solar cell made out of amorphous silicon. For a long time, the low power output of amorphous silicon solar cells limited their use to small applications only.
This problem is partially solved by “stacking” several amorphous solar cells on top of each other, which increases their performance and makes them more space-efficient.

S: http://energyinformative.org/amorphous-silicon-solar-panels/ (last access: 29 December 2014)

N: 1. amorphus (adj): “shapeless,” 1731, from Modern Latin amorphus, from Greek amorphos “without form, shapeless, deformed,” from a- “without” + morphe “form” (see Morpheus). Related: Amorphously; amorphousness.
silicon (n). nonmetallic element, 1817, coined by British chemist Thomas Thomson from silica (silicon dioxide), from which it was isolated. The name is patterned on carbon, etc. Silicon chip first attested 1965; Silicon Valley for the Santa Clara Valley south of San Francisco, U.S., first attested 1974, from the concentration of manufacturers of silicon chips used in computers, watches, etc.
2. Silicon, the most abundant solid element in the earth’s crust (28%), was first produced in the amorphous forms by Gay-Lussac and Thénard in 1811. Crystalline silicon was first prepared by Deville in 1854.

S: 1. OED – http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?allowed_in_frame=0&search=amorphus&searchmode=none; http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?allowed_in_frame=0&search=silicon&searchmode=none (last access: 29 December 2014). 2. TERMIUMPLUS.

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CR: photovoltaic solar panel, polycrystalline silicon, silicon, solar energy.