Defect annealing processes for polycrystalline silicon thin-film solar cells

A variety of defect healing methods was analyzed for optimization of polycrystalline silicon (poly-Si) thin-film solar cells on glass. The films were fabricated by solid phase crystallization of amorphous silicon deposited either by plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) or by electron-beam evaporation (EBE). Three different rapid thermal processing (RTP) set-ups were compared: A conventional rapid thermal annealing oven, a dual wavelength laser annealing system and a movable two sided halogen lamp oven. The two latter processes utilize focused energy input for reducing the thermal load introduced into the glass substrates and thus lead to less deformation and impurity diffusion. Analysis of the structural and electrical properties of the poly-Si thin films was performed by Suns-V_OC measurements and Raman spectroscopy. 1 cm² cells were prepared for a selection of samples and characterized by I–V-measurements. The poly-Si material quality could be extremely enhanced, resulting in increase of the open circuit voltages from about 100 mV (EBE) and 170 mV (PECVD) in the untreated case up to 480 mV after processing.     

Ion implanted crystalline silicon solar cells with blanket and selective emitter

We present an alternative method to form a blanket and selective emitter using a method that implants ion. This avoids several problems such as losing area by laser isolation and wet process for removing phosphosilicate glass formed on silicon substrate during the conventional thermal POCl₃ diffusion process. It was demonstrated that laser isolation is not necessary after the ion implanted solar cells were fabricated. Furthermore, we also fabricated selective emitter solar cells. After studying their characteristics, it was clear that the solar cells with ion implanted selective emitter improved cell efficiency. This is because their blue response increased and their reverse saturation current density decreased. Using an industrially feasible process, solar cell efficiencies of >18.5% on 156 mm × 156 mm using a shallow 100 Ω/sq. emitter and an ion implanted 65 Ω/sq. selective emitter were achieved.     

Characterization of nanoporous silicon layer to reduce the optical losses of crystalline silicon solar cells

Reduction of optical losses in crystalline silicon solar cells by surface modification is one of the most important issues of silicon photovoltaics. Porous Si layers on the front surface of textured Si substrates have been investigated with the aim of improving the optical losses of the solar cells, because an anti-reflection coating and a surface passivation can be obtained simultaneously in one process. We have demonstrated the feasibility of a very efficient porous Si AR layer, prepared by a simple, cost effective, electrochemical etching method. Silicon p-type CZ (100) oriented wafers were textured by anisotropic etching in sodium carbonate solution. Then, the porous Si layers were formed by electrochemical etching in HF solutions. After that, the properties of porous Si in terms of morphology, structure and reflectance are summarized. The structure of porous Si layers was investigated using SEM. The formation of a nanoporous Si layer on the textured silicon wafer result in a reflectance lower than 5% in the wavelength region from 500 to 900 nm. Such a surface modification allows improving the Si solar cell characteristics. An efficiency of 13.4% is achieved on a monocrystalline silicon solar cell using the electrochemical technique.     

The observation of damage regions produced by neutron irradiation in lithium-doped silicon solar cells

Regions of lattice disorder produced in lithium-doped float-zone melted n/p-type silicon solar cells by irradiation with mono-energetic neutrons at doses between 10¹⁰ and 10¹³/cm² have been studied. The defect regions were revealed by chemically etching the surface of the solar cells and by observing carbon replicas in an electron microscope. It was found that the defect density increased with increasing irradiation dose and increased lithium content, whereas the average defect diameter was found to decrease. From thermal annealing experiments it was found that in the lithium-doped material the defect structure was stable at temperatures between 300 and 1200° K. This was found to be in contrast to the undoped material where at the lowest doses considerable annealing was observed to occur. The above results are discussed in terms of the theoretical predictions and models of defect clusters proposed by Gossick and Crawford and Cleland.     

Radiation damage in solar cells

A review is given of the various aspects of solar-cell degradation in space. By way of introduction, defect creation in a solid by energetic particles is outlined, and the basic results of solar-cell theory are presented. The identification of the minority-carrier lifetime as the principal quantity of concern in solar-cell degradation then paves the way for the discussion of specific materials. The radiation damage in silicon, gallium arsenide and indium phosphide solar cells is discussed in some detail, paying particular attention to microscopic defects and their interaction with impurities.     

Hybrid silicon nanocone-polymer solar cells

Recently, hybrid Si/organic solar cells have been studied for low-cost Si photovoltaic devices because the Schottky junction between the Si and organic material can be formed by solution processes at a low temperature. In this study, we demonstrate a hybrid solar cell composed of Si nanocones and conductive polymer. The optimal nanocone structure with an aspect ratio (height/diameter of a nanocone) less than two allowed for conformal polymer surface coverage via spin-coating while also providing both excellent antireflection and light trapping properties. The uniform heterojunction over the nanocones with enhanced light absorption resulted in a power conversion efficiency above 11%. Based on our simulation study, the optimal nanocone structures for a 10 μm thick Si solar cell can achieve a short-circuit current density, up to 39.1 mA/cm(2), which is very close to the theoretical limit. With very thin material and inexpensive processing, hybrid Si nanocone/polymer solar cells are promising as an economically viable alternative energy solution.     

Characterization of solar selective molybdenum black films

It has been found possible to prepare excellent solar selective molybdenum black films by a modified catholic electrodeposition technique. These films have been characterized using XPS, AES depth profiling, SEM, chemical analysis, X-ray diffraction and VIS-IR reflectance spectroscopy. The study shows that the film is composite of MoO₃ matrix containing fine nickel and copper particles. It is also observed that the copper concentration increases from the surface of the film towards the substrate. Reported solar selectivity can be explained using the Maxwell Gannett theory along with the stacked layer treatment developed by Anderson.     

Radiation-stimulated processes in CdTe solar cells

The parameters of polycrystalline cadmium telluride (CdTe) solar cells exhibit nonmonotonic variation with increasing dose of γ radiation. It is established that this behavior is related to a nonmonotonic dose dependence of the minority carrier lifetime in the base region. The short circuit current, the fill factor, and the conversion efficiency of γ-irradiated CdTe solar cells can be greater than the analogous parameters of unirradiated devices.     

Film adhesion in amorphous silicon solar cells

A major issue encountered during fabrication of triple junction a-Si solar cells on polyimide substrates is the adhesion of the solar cell thin films to the substrates. Here, we present our study of film adhesion in amorphous silicon solar cells made on different polyimide substrates (Kapton VN, Upilex-S and Gouldflex), and the effect of tie coats on film adhesion.     

Photovoltaic measurements in single-nanowire silicon solar cells

Single-nanowire solar cells were created by forming rectifying junctions in electrically contacted vapor-liquid-solid-grown Si nanowires. The nanowires had diameters in the range of 200 nm to 1.5 microm. Dark and light current-voltage measurements were made under simulated Air Mass 1.5 global illumination. Photovoltaic spectral response measurements were also performed. Scanning photocurrent microscopy indicated that the Si nanowire devices had minority carrier diffusion lengths of approximately 2 microm. Assuming bulk-dominated recombination, this value corresponds to a minimum carrier lifetime of approximately 15 ns, or assuming surface-dominated recombination, to a maximum surface recombination velocity of approximately 1350 cm s(-1). The methods described herein comprise a valuable platform for measuring the properties of semiconductor nanowires, and are expected to be instrumental when designing an efficient macroscopic solar cell based on arrays of such nanostructures.     

Hydrogenated microcrystalline silicon for solar cells

We report a detailed study of the deposition, composition, structure, and photoelectric properties of low-temperature microcrystalline silicon layers produced by a novel method, which takes advantage of the activation of gas mixtures in an electron-beam plasma and the transport of the activated particles to the deposition zone at a supersonic speed. Under optimal conditions, we have reached deposition rates above 5 nm/s on substrates 150 × 150 mm in dimensions. The method under development is potentially attractive for the fabrication of thin-film solar cells through roll-to-roll processing on cheap substrates.     

Radial junction amorphous silicon solar cells on PECVD-grown silicon nanowires

Constructing radial junction hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) solar cells on top of silicon nanowires (SiNWs) represents a promising approach towards high performance and cost-effective thin film photovoltaics. We here develop an all-in?situ strategy to grow SiNWs, via a vapour-liquid-solid (VLS) mechanism on top of ZnO-coated glass substrate, in a plasma-enhanced chemical vapour deposition (PECVD) reactor. Controlling the distribution of indium catalyst drops allows us to tailor the as-grown SiNW arrays into suitable size and density, which in turn results in both a sufficient light trapping effect and a suitable arrangement allowing for conformal coverage of SiNWs by subsequent a-Si:H layers. We then demonstrate the fabrication of radial junction solar cells and carry on a parametric study designed to shed light on the absorption and quantum efficiency response, as functions of the intrinsic a-Si:H layer thickness and the density of SiNWs. These results lay a solid foundation for future structural optimization and performance ramp-up of the radial junction thin film a-Si:H photovoltaics.     

Nickel silicide contact for silicon solar cells

Electroless nickel metallization on textured front surface is carried out to fabricate large area (13%) efficient silicon solar cells. It is established through XPS analysis that NiSi is formed at the front grid contact on the texturized surface at relatively low temperature leading to a low value of series resistance of the solar cells.     

硅纳米线太阳能电池研究进展

硅纳米线基太阳电池相对于平面硅基太阳电池具有来源丰富低成本的特点,在未来光伏市场应用中具有一定的潜力及价值。就硅纳米线太阳能电池的工作原理,即势垒电场的形成和光生电场的产生进行了简要介绍。详细阐述了径向型和轴向型两种结构的硅纳米线太阳能电池及硅纳米线长度和微观形貌对其光电转换效率的影响。最后,对硅纳米线太阳能电池的发展进行了展望。     

Characterization of malignant tissue cells by laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy

Cancer diagnosis and classification is extremely complicated and, for the most part, relies on subjective interpretation of biopsy material. Such methods are laborious and in some cases might result in different results depending on the histopathologist doing the examination. Automated, real-time diagnostic procedures would greatly facilitate cancer diagnosis and classification. Laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) is used for the first time to our knowledge to distinguish normal and malignant tumor cells from histological sections. We found that the concentration of trace elements in normal and tumor cells was significantly different. For comparison, the tissue samples were also analyzed by an inductively coupled plasma emission spectroscopy (ICPES) system. The results from the LIBS measurement and ICPES analysis were in good agreement.     

Combined power of perovskites and silicon solar cells

The photovoltaic (PV) or solar cells technology can be categorised into two main groups, the wafer‐based and thin‐film based PVs. The wafer‐based PVs include the commonly known crystalline silicon (c‐Si) and gallium arsenide (GaAs) cells. The GaAs cells exhibit higher efficiency compared to crystalline silicon (c‐Si) cells but it is the later that dominates the commercial market. Thin‐film based (2nd Generation) PVs, including cadmium telluride (CdTe), amorphous silicon (a‐Si:H) and copper‐indium‐gallium‐selenide (CIGS), generally absorb light more efficiently than wafer‐based cells and can allow the use of materials in very thin films form. CdTe PVs have proven to be highly efficient but holds only a few percentage share of the market. There is still a need for more R&D before further commercialisation. An emerging and relatively new class of thin‐film based photovoltaics (3rd Generation) technology that has the potential to overcome the current energy conversion efficiencies and performance by making use of novel materials. This class of PVs include organic photovoltaic (OPV), dye‐synthesised solar cells (DSSC), quantum‐dot (QD) and last but not least, the perovskite PV. Perovskite PVs can offer a low cost energy generation solution with the best device conversion efficiencies have shot from lower than 4% in 2009 to more than 21% in 2016. Perovskite based devices can be fabricated using vacuum thermal evaporation or by solution processing of the active layers. Although most recent perovskite solar cells with record efficiencies (>20%) are prepared via solution processing, the early breakthrough in perovskite solar cells was made with vacuum processed perovskites thin films. Vacuum thermal evaporation offers the ability and flexibility to prepare solar cell devices in various configuration. Recent developments in the field of perovskite demonstrates its compatibility with both, first and second generation PV technologies, and is therefore likely to be embraced by the conventional PV industry and make its way into utility‐scale power generation.     

Texturization of multicrystalline silicon by wet chemical etching for silicon solar cells

Two kinds of surface texturization of mc-Si obtained by wet chemical etching are investigated in view of implementation in the solar cell processing. The first one was the acid texturization of saw damage on the surface of multicrystalline silicon (mc-Si). The second one was macro-porous texturization prepared by double-step chemical etching after KOH saw damage layer was previously removed.Both methods of texturization are realized by chemical etching in HF-HNO₃-H₂O with different additives. Macro-porous texturization allows to obtain effective reflectivity (R_eff) in the range 9–20% from bare mc-Si. This R_eff value depends on the time of second step etching that causes porous structure modification. The internal quantum efficiency (IQE) of cells with this kind of texturization has possibility to reach better conversion efficiency than the standard mc-Si solar cells. However, low shunt resistance depends on morphology of porous layer and it is the main factor which can reduce open circuit voltage and conversion efficiency of cells.The effective reflectivity is about 17% for acid texturized mc-Si wafer. The investigation of surface morphology by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) revealed that the dislocations are appearing during chemical etching and they can reduce open circuit voltage. The density of the dislocations can be reduced by controlling depth of etching and optimisation of acid solution.     

非晶硅太阳电池生产线的技术进步

北京北仪创新真空技术有限责任公司(以下简称北仪)自行设计并成功研制了中国国内首条、整机全部国产化的非晶硅薄膜太阳电池生产线;经过多个用户生产线的建设深刻认识到:核心技术的提升必须依靠自主创新;技术进步需要工艺与设备配套研发、交替提升。北仪建设了具有产业化能力的薄膜太阳电池实验中心;创建了含有"‘在线实验室’的可创新薄膜太阳电池生产线",本文介绍了该生产线的核心设备以及关键工艺步骤中"在线实验室"所起的作用。该生产线的核心设备为等离子体增强化学气相沉积系统(Plasma Enhanced Chemical Vapor Deposition,PECVD),在"在线实验室"的指导下,通过对该系统的稳定性和膜层均匀性的改进以及电池I层厚度和P层材料带隙的优化,得到了性能更优的同质双结非晶硅太阳电池。