The silicon thin-film market is set for continued decline, according to a new report by EnergyTrend.

Following the announcement that DuPont was to shutter its Apollo amorphous silicon (a-Si) thin-film operations, EnergyTrend has predicted a further loss of market share for the technology.

Though less efficient, the lower cost of a-Si modules kept them competitive.

“[Recent] silicon thin-film price quotes is at US$0.58/watt while silicon modules are at US$0.60/watt. The price difference has decreased from the original US$0.1/watt to US$0.02/watt. Therefore, silicon thin-film product no longer holds price competitiveness,” said Arthur Hsu, research manager of EnergyTrend. “At the same time, silicon module conversion efficiency is around 17.2% while silicon thin-film remains at 8% to 10%. The efficiency gap between the two will continue to increase as silicon module efficiency goes up.”

EnergyTrend cites the lack of investment in new a-Si technology development as another contributing factor to its waning fortunes.

The decision by Tokyo Electron to cease tandem technology development, a method that boosted a-Si efficiency, dealt a “crushing” blow to its prospects.