5. to prepare optimised devices which are suitable for large-scale production. In recent times a new field of materials science has opened up based on the special properties of amorphous materials. These are substances like glasses, ceramics and even metals which have no long range order in their structure. These materials possess special properties which make them suitable for technological applications. They are often inexpensive to prepare and their properties can be engineered to suit particular applications.
Amorphous silicon is a glassy form of silicon, one of the most common elements in the earth's crust.
It is easy to prepare and it has some special properties which make it very suitable for use in electronic devices like position sensitive detectors, field effect transistors and solar cells. Amorphous silicon can be prepared in several different ways. The silicon produced in this process may be deposited in very thin films on a substrate such as glass, stainless steel or ceramic. This makes amorphous silicon a very promising material for large scale use in thin film solar cells. Amorphous silicon is a relatively new material.