Double layer antireflection coating for high-efficiency passivatedemitter silicon solar cells

Recent high-efficiency silicon solar cells employ high-quality oxides both for surface passivation and as a rudimentary antireflection coating. This gives over 3% reflection at the cell front surface, even though the surface is microstructured. A double layer antireflection coating applied to cells with reduced SiO₂ thickness reduces the cell reflection. However, although reflection is minimized by reducing the oxide thickness to values below 100 Å, a rapid falloff in both open-circuit voltage and short-circuit current is observed experimentally once this thickness is reduced below 200 Å. The best compromise is found when oxide thickness is 250 Å which allows improved short-circuit current density without appreciable loss in open-circuit voltage     

Use of tin oxide as an inexpensive antireflection coating for p on n polycrystalline silicon solar cells

The potential of tin oxide as an inexpensive antireflection (AR) coating for polycrystalline silicon solar cells has been investigated. Undoped tin oxide films of a desired thickness were deposited over p on n polycrystalline silicon solar cells by spray pyrolysis of an alcoholic solution of hydrated stannic chloride at 500°C. Evaluation of cell performance before and after this AR coating showed that the AR coating is highly compatible with the polycrystalline silicon solar cells. About 40-50 percent improvement in the short-circuit current of p on n polycrystalline cells has been measured. The coating may be highly suited to large-scale production of low-cost polycrystalline silicon solar cells for terrestrial application.     

Optimised antireflection coatings for planar silicon solar cells using remote PECVD silicon nitride and porous silicon dioxide

Silicon nitride (SiN) films fabricated by remote plasma‐enhanced chemical vapour deposition (RPECVD) have recently been shown to provide an excellent electronic passivation of silicon surfaces. This property, in combination with its large refractive index, makes RPECVD SiN an ideal candidate for a surface‐passivating antireflection coating on silicon solar cells. A major problem of these films, however, is the fact that the extinction coefficient increases with increasing refractive index. Hence, a careful optimisation of RPECVD SiN based antireflection coatings on silicon solar cells must consider the light absorption within the films. Optimal optical performance of silicon solar cells in air is obtained if the RPECVD SiN films are combined with a medium with a refractive index below 1·46, such as porous SiO₂. In this study, the dispersion of the refractive indices and the extinction coefficients of RPECVD SiN, porous SiO₂, and several other relevant materials (MgF₂, TiO_x, ZnS, B270 crown glass, soda lime glass, ethylene vinyl acetate and resin as used in commercial photovoltaic modules) are experimentally determined. Based on these data, the short‐circuit currents of planar silicon solar cells covered by RPECVD SiN and/or porous SiO₂ single‐ and multi‐layer antireflection coatings are numerically maximised for glass‐encapsulated as well as non‐encapsulated operating conditions. The porous SiO₂/RPECVD SiN‐based antireflection coatings optimised for these applications are shown to be universally suited for silicon solar cells, regardless of the internal blue or red response of the cells. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Effect of antireflection coatings and coverglasses on silicon solar cell performance

The high reflectivity of the polished silicon surface of the newer N⁺/P silicon solar cells has emphasized the need for properly designed antireflection coatings to obtain improved solar cell performance. The problem is complicated by the facts that solar cells are generally tested in air, but are for their final application covered with a glass or quartz slide which is adhesive-bonded to the cell surface, and further, that solar cells operating in a nuclear particle radiation environment change their spectral response and are frequently optimized for performance at the end of design-life. Experiments have been performed to explore the antireflection characteristics of thin films of silicon monoxide which have been evaporated on the solar cell surface. The effect of the antireflection coating thickness on cell response as a function of wavelength has been determined and the improvement in cell short circuit current for Air Mass Zero space sunlight evaluated. Included in this study was the evaluation of the antireflection characteristics after the application of a coverglass with adhesive over the antireflection coating. For comparison, coverglasses were also applied to bare cells with no antireflection coating present. In all cases the various coating comparisons were based on the cell short-circuit current performance in Air Mass Zero sunlight.     

Double-layered silicon nitride antireflection coatings for multicrystalline silicon solar cells

Silicon nitride coating possesses both optical antireflection and electrical passivation effects for crystalline silicon solar cells. In this work, we employed a double-layered silicon nitride coating consisting of a top layer with a lower refractive index and a bottom layer (contacting the silicon wafer) with a higher refractive index for multicrystalline silicon solar cells. Double-layered silicon nitride coating provides a lower optical reflection and better surface passivation than those of single-layered silicon nitride. Details for optimizing the double-layered silicon nitride coating are presented. In order to get statistical conclusions, we fabricated a large number of multicrystalline silicon solar cells using the production line for both the double-layered and single-layered cell types. It was statistically demonstrated that the double-layered silicon nitride coating provided a consistent enhancement in the photovoltaic performance of multicrystalline silicon solar cells over those of the single-layered silicon nitride coating.     

Effect of carbon containing SiNx antireflection coating on the screen‐printed contact and low illumination performance of silicon solar cell

Screen‐printed metal contact formation through a carbon containing antireflection coating was investigated for silicon solar cells by fabricating conventional carbon‐free SiN_x and carbon‐rich SiC_xN_y film. An appreciable difference was found in the average shunt resistance (R_sh), which was about an order of magnitude higher for SiC_xN_y‐coated solar cells relative to the counterpart SiN_x‐coated solar cells. Series resistance (R_s) and fill factor (FF) were comparable for both antireflection coatings but the starting efficiency of SiC_xN_y‐coated cell was ~0·2% lower because of slightly inferior surface passivation. However, SiC_xN_y‐coated solar cells showed less degradation under lower illumination (<1000 W/m²) compared with the SiN_x‐coated cells due to reduced FF degradation under low illumination. Theoretical calculations in this paper support that this is a direct result of high R_sh. Detailed photovoltaic system and cost modeling is performed to quantify the enhanced energy production and the reduced levelized cost of electricity due to higher shunt resistance of the SiC_xN_y‐coated cells. It is shown that R_sh value below 30 Ω (7000 Ω cm² for 239 cm² cell) can lead to appreciable loss in energy production in regions of low solar insolation. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Polarization photosensitivity of silicon solar cells with an antireflection coating consisting of a mixture of indium and tin oxides

The photoelectric properties of ITO/n-Si solar cells with ITO-side oblique incidence of linearly polarized light on the solar cells have been studied. Polarization photosensitivity and an increase in the relative quantum efficiency of photoconversion as a result of a decrease in reflection losses were found. The induced photopleochroism coefficient P _I increases with the angle of incidence θ as P _I ∼θ ². The polarization photosensitivity of solar cells was studied as a function of the photon energy between the band gaps of the two contiguous materials. The results show that the solar cells studied can be used as selective polarimetric photosensors. Fiz. Tekh. Poluprovodn. 31, 800–805 (July 1997)     

晶体硅表面纳米孔减反光结构的制备及其性能表征

利用金属辅助硅化学刻蚀法在晶体硅表面制备 了 大面积有序硅纳米结构,并基于金属辅助硅化学刻蚀的机理,实现了硅纳米结构从线阵列到 孔阵列转变。漫反射光谱的测试结果表 明,相对于平面、金字塔结构,硅纳米孔织构的晶体硅具有卓越的减反光性能,在300100nm 光谱范围内的AM1.5G太阳光子的光反射损失比低于3.6%。硅纳米孔阵列减反光性能优异, 制备方法简单、快速,且其孔壁互连,有益于晶体硅太阳电池的后续制备工艺及其表面结构 机械稳定,可作为减反光结构应用于晶体硅太阳电池。     

物理冶金多晶硅太阳电池叠层钝化减反射结构模拟

采用PC1D模拟软件对p型物理冶金多晶硅太阳电池的SiO2/Si Nx/SiNx叠层钝化减反射结构进行了计算模拟。结果表明:在SiNx/Si Nx双层减反射结构中引入SiO2钝化层后可以明显改善电池的外量子效率与表面减反射效果,并最终提高电池转换效率;随着SiO2膜厚度的增加,电池表面反射率呈先降低后增加的趋势,而电池外量子效率及转换效率则呈现出相反的趋势。二氧化硅膜厚度在2~8 nm时,电池转换效率变化不大,并在6 nm时效率达到最大值18.04%,当二氧化硅膜厚度大于8 nm后电池转换效率会出现明显下降。     

Optimization of moth‐eye antireflection schemes for silicon solar cells

Nanostructured moth‐eye antireflection schemes for silicon solar cells are simulated using rigorous coupled wave analysis and compared to traditional thin film coatings. The design of the moth‐eye arrays is optimized for application to a laboratory cell (air–silicon interface) and an encapsulated cell (EVA‐silicon interface), and the optimization accounts for the solar spectrum incident on the silicon interface in both cells, and the spectral response of both types of cell. The optimized moth‐eye designs are predicted to outperform an optimized double layer thin film coating by approximately 2% for the laboratory cell and approximately 3% for the encapsulated cell. The predicted performance of the silicon moth‐eye under encapsulation is particularly remarkable as it exhibits losses of only 0·6% compared to an ideal AR surface. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Effect of post-PECVD photo-assisted anneal on multicrystallinesilicon solar cells

Silicon nitride (SiN_x) films deposited by plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) contain large amount of atomic hydrogen which can be driven into bulk silicon by post-PECVD anneal. The objective of this paper is to understand and quantify the effects of the anneal on multicrystalline silicon (mc-Si) solar cells. Detailed cell analysis and model calculations are performed to assess the impact of the anneal on mc-Si cells. Simple n⁺-p-p⁺ solar cells with PECVD SiN_x/SiO₂ antireflection (AR) coating are annealed in the temperature range of 350°C to 700°C. The efficiency of the cells made on EFG silicon increases by 45% due to the AR coating and then additional 25% due to the anneal. A trade off between short and long wavelength response is found during the anneal. Low temperature anneal increases the short wavelength response, while high temperature anneal improves the long wavelength response at the expense of the short wavelength response. It is shown that the increase in short wavelength response is due to improved surface passivation, and the decrease in short wavelength response after high temperature anneals is the result of the increase in short wavelength absorption in the SiN_x film. Higher quality HEM silicon cells do not show appreciable increase in the long wavelength response at higher anneal temperatures. Thus post-PECVD low temperature anneal helps all mc-Si cells, but the effect of high temperature anneal is material specific. Cells made from materials which do not respond to hydrogenation can degrade at high temperature anneal     

Novel porous silicon backside light reflector for thin silicon solar cells

High efficiencies of thin crystalline Si solar cells grown on highly doped substrates have been reported. We propose porous Si layers located near the interface of the active layer and the substrate to introduce an optical confinement into these cells. We report on the experimental proof of the principle for this novel type of back-surface reflector. Spectral reflectance measurements agree well with computer simulations. On the basis of this agreement, we calculate the enhancement of short-circuit current densities due to porous reflectors for textured and non-textured cells. These simulations are of particular relevance for multicrystalline Si cells on foreign substrates and for space cells. Copyright © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A simple analytical model of thin films crystalline silicon solar cell with quasi-monocrystalline porous silicon at the backside

An analytical model that simulates the performance of an elementary thin silicon solar cell with a thin film quasi-monocrystalline porous silicon (QMPS) at the backside reflector is developed. A complete set of equations for the photocurrent generated under the effect of the reflected light is solved analytically in each region. The collection of the light absorbed by the QMPS layer has been discussed and the analytical solution of the light-generated current in this layer is derived. The maximum of the photocurrent density calculated in the present study is in accordance with the numerical values established by Bergmann et al. Furthermore, the influence that the layer's number of double porosities and high porosity have on the photovoltaic parameters is studied. It is demonstrated that the photovoltaic parameters increase with the number of double porosities that the layer might have in a given structure. When the QMPS layer is formed by three double-porosity layers 20%/80% and for a 5-μm-thick film c-Si, the backside reflector gives a total improvement of about 6 mA/cm² for the photocurrent density and 3.2% for the cell efficiency.     

Properties of Rapidly-Grown rtr silicon sheet and their effects on solar cell processing

Silicon sheet grown by the Ribbon-to-Ribbon (RTR) crystal growth method exhibits characteristics that are unusual relative to solar cell processing on conventional silicon wafers. One such characteristic is the low (5-15 ym) minority carrier diffusion length observed in as-grown ribbons. This value is increased to as high as 100 ym due to a two step getter ing effect that results from the normal process sequence used for solar cell fabrication. A second characteristic reported here is a dense macroscopic dendritic structure which occurs at the higher growth rates. This presents a very irregular, non-planar surface onto which solar cells can be fabricated. The characteristics of solar cells made on dendritic ribbon are similar to those made on ribbons that do not contain dendrites.     

倍频双波长增透膜的研制

本文从理论和实验上对倍频双波长增透膜进行了详细的研讨,给出了膜系的设计和误差分析以及制备工艺,解决了膜的均匀性、波带宽度问题。     

Moth‐eye antireflection coating fabricated by nanoimprint lithography on 1 eV dilute nitride solar cell

We report on the performance of biomimicked antireflection coating applied to dilute nitride solar cell. The coating consists of nanostructures replicating the moth‐eye geometry and has been fabricated by nanoimprint lithography directly within the window layer covering the dilute nitride absorbing junction. The mean reflectivity within the spectral range of 320–1800 nm remains under 5% for incident angles up to 45°. The effect of the coating on the cell performance was assessed by measuring the current–voltage characteristics under simulated solar illumination. A clear performance increase was identified when comparing a solar cell with the moth‐eye coating with a solar cell having a standard SiN_x/SiO₂ coating. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

窗口层对三结电池双层减反膜的影响

窗口层的厚度对高效三层太阳能电池具有重要影响。本文针对太阳能电池的地面应用,优化了三节电池（Ga0.5In0.5P/In0.02Ga0.98As/Ge）的双层反射膜（SiO2/TiO2, SiO2/ZnS）。同时讨论了在双层减反膜优化结构下,变化Al0.5In0.5P窗口层厚度引起反射率的变化。     

Influence of window layer thickness on double layer antireflection coating for triple junction solar cells

The optimization of a SiO₂/TiO₂,SiO₂/ZnS double layer antireflection coating（ARC）on Ga_0.5In_0.5P/In_0.02Ga_0.98As/Ge solar cells for terrestrial application is discussed.The Al_0.5In_0.5P window layer thickness is also taken into consideration.It is shown that the optimal parameters of double layer ARC vary with the thickness of the window layer.     

Simulation and implementation of a porous silicon reflector for epitaxial silicon solar cells

One of the main challenges in the ongoing development of thin film crystalline silicon solar cells on a supporting silicon substrate is the implementation of a long‐wavelength reflector at the interface between the epitaxial layer and the substrate. IMEC has developed such a reflector based on electrochemical anodization of silicon to create a multi‐layer porous silicon stack with alternating high and low porosity layers. This innovation results in a 1–2% absolute increase in efficiency for screenprinted epitaxial cells with a record of 13·8%. To reach a better understanding of the reflector and to aid in its continued optimization, several extensive optical simulations have been performed using an in‐house‐developed optical software programme. This software is written as a Microsoft Excel workbook to make use of its user‐friendliness and modular structure. It can handle up to 15 individual dielectric layers and is used to determine the influence of the number and the sequence of the layers on the internal reflection. A sensitivity analysis is also presented. A study of the angle at which the light strikes the reflector shows separate regions in the physical working of the reflector which include a region where the Bragg effect is dominant as well as a region where total internal reflection plays the largest role. The existence of these regions is proved using reflection measurements. Based on these findings, an estimate is made for the achievable current gain with an ideal reflector and the potential of epitaxial silicon solar cells is determined. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Polymer solar cell by blade coating

Polymer bulk hetero-junction solar cells of poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) donor and (6,6)-phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM) acceptor are fabricated by blade coating in toluene solution. Desired donor–acceptor self-organization is achieved without the slow drying process and high boiling point solvent. Power conversion efficiency is 3.8%, much higher than the 2.6% obtained by spin coating in toluene solution. The blade coating method has nearly 100% material usage and can be integrated in the roll-to-roll process with high throughput production.