Silica nanospheres as back surface reflectors for crystalline silicon thin‐film solar cells

In this paper, fabrication of a non‐continuous silicon dioxide layer from a silica nanosphere solution followed by the deposition of an aluminium film is shown to be a low‐cost, low‐thermal‐budget method of forming a high‐quality back surface reflector (BSR) on crystalline silicon (c‐Si) thin‐film solar cells. The silica nanosphere layer has randomly spaced openings which can be used for metal‐silicon contact areas. Using glass/SiN/p⁺nn⁺ c‐Si thin‐film solar cells on glass as test vehicle, the internal quantum efficiency (IQE) at long wavelengths (>900 nm) is experimentally demonstrated to more than double by the implementation of this BSR, compared to the baseline case of a full‐area Al film as BSR. The improved optical performance of the silica nanosphere/aluminium BSR is due to reduced parasitic absorption in the Al film. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Autodiffusion: a novel method for emitter formation in crystalline silicon thin‐film solar cells

The in situ formation of an emitter in monocrystalline silicon thin‐film solar cells by solid‐state diffusion of dopants from the growth substrate during epitaxy is demonstrated. This approach, that we denote autodiffusion, combines the epitaxy and the diffusion into one single process. Layer‐transfer with porous silicon (PSI process) is used to fabricate n‐type silicon thin‐film solar cells. The cells feature a boron emitter on the cell rear side that is formed by autodiffusion. The sheet resistance of this autodiffused emitter is 330 Ω/□. An independently confirmed conversion efficiency of (14·5 ± 0·4)% with a high short circuit current density of (33·3 ± 0·8) mA/cm² is achieved for a 2 × 2 cm² large cell with a thickness of (24 ± 1) µm. Transferred n‐type silicon thin films made from the same run as the cells show effective carrier lifetimes exceeding 13 µs. From these samples a bulk diffusion length L > 111 µm is deduced. Amorphous silicon is used to passivate the rear surface of these samples after the layer‐transfer resulting in a surface recombination velocity lower than 38 cm/s. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Life‐cycle greenhouse gas effects of introducing nano‐crystalline materials in thin‐film silicon solar cells

Solar PV is widely considered as a “green” technology. This paper, however, investigates the environmental impact of the production of solar modules made from thin‐film silicon. We focus on novel applications of nano‐crystalline Silicon materials (nc‐Si) into current amorphous Silicon (a‐Si) devices. Two nc‐Si specific details concerning the environmental performance can be identified, when we want to compare to a‐Si modules. First, in how far the extra (and thicker) silicon layer (s) affects upstream material requirements and energy use. Second, in how far depositing an extra silicon layer may increase emissions of greenhouse gases as additional emissions of Fluor gases (F‐gases) are associated to this step. The much larger global warming potential of F‐gases (17 200–22 800 times that of CO₂) may lead to higher environmental burdens. To date, no study has yet analyzed the effect of F‐gas usage on the environmental profile of thin‐film silicon solar modules. We performed a life‐cycle assessment (LCA) to investigate the current environmental usefulness of pursuing this novel micromorph concept. The switch to the new micromorph technology will result in a 60–85% increase in greenhouse gas emissions (per generated kWh solar electricity) in case of NF₃ based clean processing, and 15–100% when SF₆ is used. We conclude that F‐gas usage has a substantial environmental impact on both module types, in particular the micromorph one. Also, micromorph module efficiencies need to be improved from the current 8–9% (stabilized efficiency) toward 12–16% (stab. eff.) in order to compensate for the increased environmental impacts. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Broadband light trapping with disordered photonic structures in thin‐film silicon solar cells

We theoretically investigate light trapping with disordered 1D photonic structures in thin‐film crystalline silicon solar cells. The disorder is modelled in a finite‐size supercell, which allows the use of rigorous coupled‐wave analysis to calculate the optical properties of the devices and the short‐circuit current density J_sc. The role of the Fourier transform of the photonic pattern in the light trapping is investigated, and the optimal correlation between size and position disorder is found. This result is used to optimize the disorder in a more effective way, using a single parameter. We find that a Gaussian disorder always enhances the device performance with respect to the best ordered configuration. To properly quantify this improvement, we calculate the Lambertian limit to the absorption enhancement for 1D photonic structures in crystalline silicon, following the previous work for the 2D case [M.A. Green, Progr. Photovolt: Res. Appl. 2002; 10 (4), pp. 235–241]. We find that disorder optimization can give a relevant contribution to approach this limit. Finally, we propose an optimal disordered 2D configuration and estimate the maximum short‐circuit current that can be achieved, potentially leading to efficiencies that are comparable with the values of other thin‐film solar cell technologies. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Interdigitated back‐contact heterojunction solar cell concept for liquid phase crystallized thin‐film silicon on glass

We present an interdigitated back‐contact silicon heterojunction system designed for liquid‐phase crystallized thin‐film (~10 µm) silicon on glass. The preparation of the interdigitated emitter (a‐Si:H(p)) and absorber (a‐Si:H(n)) contact layers relies on the etch selectivity of doped amorphous silicon layers in alkaline solutions. The etch rates of a‐Si:H(n) and a‐Si:H(p) in 0.6% NaOH were determined and interdigitated back‐contact silicon heterojunction solar cells with two different metallizations, namely Al and ITO/Ag electrodes, were evaluated regarding electrical and optical properties. An additional random pyramid texture on the back side provides short‐circuit current density (j_SC) of up to 30.3 mA/cm² using the ITO/Ag metallization. The maximum efficiency of 10.5% is mainly limited by a low of fill factor of 57%. However, the high j_SC, as well as V_OC values of 633 mV and pseudo‐fill factors of 77%, underline the high potential of this approach. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Screen‐printed epitaxial silicon thin‐film solar cells with 13·8% efficiency

Amidst the different silicon thin‐film systems, the epitaxial thin‐film solar cell represents an approach with interesting potential. Consisting of a thin active c‐Si layer grown epitaxially on top of a low‐quality c‐Si substrate, it can be implemented into solar cell production lines without major changes in the current industrial process sequences. Within this work, ∼30‐μm‐thick epitaxial layers on non‐textured and highly doped monocrystalline Czochralski (Cz) and multicrystalline (mc) Si substrates have been prepared by CVD. Confirmed efficiencies of 13·8% on Cz and 12·3% on mc‐Si substrates have been achieved by applying an industrial process scheme based on tube and in‐line phosphorus diffusion, as well as screen‐printed front and back contacts fired through a SiN_x anti‐reflection coating. An extensive solar cell characterisation, including infrared lock‐in thermography and spectral response measurements is presented. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Nanoparticle‐enhanced light trapping in thin‐film silicon solar cells

A systematic investigation of the nanoparticle‐enhanced light trapping in thin‐film silicon solar cells is reported. The nanoparticles are fabricated by annealing a thin Ag film on the cell surface. An optimisation roadmap for the plasmon‐enhanced light‐trapping scheme for self‐assembled Ag metal nanoparticles is presented, including a comparison of rear‐located and front‐located nanoparticles, an optimisation of the precursor Ag film thickness, an investigation on different conditions of the nanoparticle dielectric environment and a combination of nanoparticles with other supplementary back‐surface reflectors. Significant photocurrent enhancements have been achieved because of high scattering and coupling efficiency of the Ag nanoparticles into the silicon device. For the optimum light‐trapping scheme, a short‐circuit current enhancement of 27% due to Ag nanoparticles is achieved, increasing to 44% for a “nanoparticle/magnesium fluoride/diffuse paint” back‐surface reflector structure. This is 6% higher compared with our previously reported plasmonic short‐circuit current enhancement of 38%. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Boron‐doped hydrogenated silicon carbide alloys containing silicon nanocrystallites for highly efficient nanocrystalline silicon thin‐film solar cells

Boron‐doped hydrogenated silicon carbide alloys containing silicon nanocrystallites (p‐nc‐SiC:H) were prepared using a plasma‐enhanced chemical vapor deposition system with a mixture of CH₄, SiH₄, B₂H₆ and H₂ gases. The influence of hydrogen dilution on the material properties of the p‐nc‐SiC:H films was investigated, and their roles as window layers in hydrogenated nanocrystalline silicon (nc‐Si:H) solar cells were examined. By increasing the R_H (H₂/SiH₄) ratio from 90 to 220, the Si―C bond density in the p‐nc‐SiC:H films increased from 5.20 × 10¹⁹ to 7.07 × 10¹⁹/cm³, resulting in a significant increase of the bandgap from 2.09 to 2.23 eV in comparison with the bandgap of 1.95 eV for p‐nc‐Si:H films. For the films deposited at a high R_H ratio, the Si nanocrystallites with a size of 3–15 nm were formed in the amorphous SiC:H matrix. The Si nanocrystallites played an important role in the enhancement of vertical charge transport in the p‐nc‐SiC:H films, which was verified by conductive atomic force microscopy measurements. When the p‐nc‐SiC:H films deposited at R_H = 220 were applied in the nc‐Si:H solar cells, a high conversion efficiency of 8.26% (V_oc = 0.53 V, J_sc = 23.98 mA/cm² and FF = 0.65) was obtained compared to 6.36% (V_oc = 0.44 V, J_sc = 21.90 mA/cm² and FF = 0.66) of the solar cells with reference p‐nc‐Si:H films. Further enhancement in the cell performance was achieved using p‐nc‐SiC:H bilayers consisting of highly doped upper layers and low‐level doped bottom layers, which led to the increased conversion efficiency of 9.03%. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Polycrystalline silicon thin‐film solar cells on glass by aluminium‐induced crystallisation and subsequent ion‐assisted deposition (ALICIA)

A research project is under way at The University of New South Wales aiming at the realisation of a novel type of polycrystalline silicon thin‐film solar cell on glass. The idea is to first create a thin large‐grained polycrystalline seed layer on glass by aluminium‐induced crystallisation of amorphous silicon and then to epitaxially thicken the seed layer with ion‐assisted deposition. By mid‐2003 this ALICIA project had achieved laboratory cells with voltages of up to 163 mV, as reported elsewhere. In the present paper we give an overview of recent progress (improved Si epitaxy process, improved control of base doping profile due to the use of phosphorus dopants instead of gallium, hydrogen passivation) that has improved the voltages of ALICIA solar cells to 270 mV. Furthermore, the strategy for further voltage improvements is presented. At the present point in time only the voltages of ALICIA cells are known, but obviously solar cells also require current for good efficiency. Hence much improvement in both voltage and current is still needed. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Silicon thin‐film solar cells with rectangular‐shaped grating couplers

As an alternative to randomly textured transparent conductive oxides as front contact for thin‐film silicon solar cells the application of transparent grating couplers was studied. The grating couplers were prepared by sputtering of aluminium‐doped zinc oxide (ZnO) on glass substrate, a photolithography and a lift‐off process and were used as periodically textured substrates. The period size and groove depth of these transparent gratings were tuned independently from each other and varied between 1 and 4 μm and 100–600 nm. The optical properties of rectangular‐shaped gratings and the opto‐electronic behaviour of amorphous and microcrystalline silicon solar cells with integrated grating couplers as a function of the grating parameters (period size P and groove depth h_g) are presented. The optical properties of the gratings are discussed with respect to randomly textured substrates and the achieved solar cell results are compared with the opto‐electronic properties of solar cells deposited on untextured (flat) and randomly textured substrates. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Determination of the minority carrier lifetime in crystalline silicon thin‐film material

The effective minority carrier lifetimes on epitaxial silicon thin‐film material have been measured successfully using two independent microwave‐detected photoconductivity decay setups. Both measurement setups are found to be equally suited to determine the minority carrier lifetime of crystalline silicon thin‐film (cSiTF) material. The different measurement conditions to which the sample under investigation is exposed are critically analyzed by both simulations and measurements on a large number of lifetime samples. No systematic deviation between the lifetime results from different measurement setups could be observed, underlining the accuracy of the determined lifetime value. Subsequently, a method to separate the epitaxial bulk lifetime and the total recombination velocity, consisting of front surface and interface recombination between the epitaxial layer and the substrate, is presented. The method, based on different thicknesses of the epitaxial layer, is applied to all batches of this investigation. Each batch consists of samples with the same material quality but different epitaxial layer thicknesses whereas different batches differ in their material quality. In addition, the same method is also successfully applied on individual cSiTF samples. From the results, it can be concluded that the limiting factor of the effective minority carrier lifetime for the investigated solar‐grade cSiTF material is the elevated recombination velocity at the interface between epitaxial layer and the substrate compared with microelectronic‐grade material. In contrast, the samples cannot be classified into different material qualities by their epitaxial bulk lifetimes. Even on multicrystalline substrate, solar‐grade material can exhibit high epitaxial bulk lifetimes comparable to microelectronic‐grade material. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Characterisation of rough reflecting substrates incorporated into thin‐film silicon solar cells

Four different categories of rough reflecting substrates as well as a single periodic grating are incorporated and tested within n‐i‐p type amorphous silicon (a‐Si:H) solar cells. Each category is characterised by its own texture shape; dimensions were varied within the categories. Compared to flat reflecting substrates, gains in short‐circuit current density (J_sc) up to 20% have been obtained on rough reflecting plastic substrates. As long as (1) the characteristic dimensions of the textures are lower than the involved light wavelengths, (2) the textures do not present any defects i.e. as long as they do not have large craters or bumps spread over the surface, the root mean square roughness (δ_RMS) as well as the ratio of average feature height to average period can be used to evaluate the gain in J_sc; if each category of randomly textured substrates is considered separately, the haze factor can be used to estimate δ_RMS and thereby the gains in J_sc. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Investigation of the impact of the rear‐dielectric/silver back reflector design on the optical performance of thin‐film silicon solar cells by means of detached reflectors

Thin‐film silicon solar cells often rely on a metal back reflector separated from the silicon layers by a thin rear dielectric as a back reflector (BR) design. In this work, we aim to obtain a better insight into the influence of the rear‐dielectric/Ag BR design on the optical performance of hydrogenated microcrystalline silicon (µc‐Si:H) solar cells. To allow the application of a large variety of rear dielectrics combined with Ag BRs of diverse topographies, the solar cell is equipped with a local electrical contact scheme that enables the use of non‐conductive rear dielectrics such as air or transparent liquids of various refractive indices n. With this approach, detached Ag BRs having the desire surface texture can be placed behind the same solar cell, yielding a direct and precise evaluation of their impact on the optical cell performance. The experiments show that both the external quantum efficiency and the device absorptance are improved with decreasing n and increasing roughness of the BR. Calculations of the angular intensity distribution of the scattered light in the µc‐Si:H are presented. They allow for establishing a consistent picture of the light trapping in the solar cell. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

>16% thin‐film epitaxial silicon solar cells on 70‐cm2 area with 30‐µm active layer,porous silicon back reflector,and Cu‐based top‐contact metallization

We demonstrate the use of a copper‐based metallization scheme for the specific application of thin‐film epitaxial silicon wafer equivalent (EpiWE) solar cells with rear chemical vapor deposition emitter and conventional POCl₃ emitter. Thin‐film epitaxial silicon wafer equivalent cells are consisting of high‐quality epitaxial active layer of only 30 µm, beneath which a highly reflective porous silicon multilayer stack is embedded. By combining Cu‐plating metallization and narrow finger lines with an epitaxial cell architecture including the porous silicon reflector, a J_sc exceeding 32 mA/cm² was achieved. We report on reproducible cell efficiencies of >16% on >70‐cm² cells with rear epitaxial chemical vapor deposition emitters and Cu contacts. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

5% Efficient evaporated solid‐phase crystallised polycrystalline silicon thin‐film solar cells

The first energy conversion efficiencies of over 5% are reported for evaporated solid‐phase crystallised (SPC) polycrystalline silicon thin‐film solar cells. All cells have a size of 2 cm² and are formed on planar glass superstrates. Back surface reflectance is provided by a simple coating with commercial white paint. The best cells have short‐circuit current densities of about 19 mA/cm² and external quantum efficiencies peaking at above 80%. The diffusion length in the base of the solar cells is larger than the base thickness, providing significant room for further efficiency improvements via an increased thickness of the base layer. Additional improvements are expected via the use of textured glass sheets, boosting the light trapping capabilities of the cells. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Efficiency (>15%) for thin‐film epitaxial silicon solar cells on 70 cm2 area offspec silicon substrate using porous silicon segmented mirrors

We report on the beneficial use of embedded segmented porous silicon broad‐band optical reflectors for thin‐film epitaxial silicon solar cells. These reflectors are formed by gradual increase of the spatial period between the layer segments, allowing for an enhanced absorption of low energy photons in the epitaxial layer. By combining these reflectors with well‐established solar cell processing by photolithography, a conversion efficiency of 15·2% was reached on 73 cm² area, highly doped offspec multicrystalline silicon substrates. The corresponding photogenerated current densities (J_sc) were well above 31 mA/cm² for an active layer of only 20 µm. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A stacked chalcopyrite thin‐film tandem solar cell with 1.2 V open‐circuit voltage

CuGaSe₂ (CGS) thin films were prepared on tin‐doped indium oxide (ITO) coated soda‐lime glass substrates by thermal co‐evaporation to fabricate transparent solar cells. The films consisted of columnar grains with a diameter of approximately 1 μm. Some deterioration of the transparency of the ITO was observed after deposition of the CGS film. The CGS solar cells were electrically connected in series with Cu(In,Ga)Se₂ (CIGS) solar cells and mechanically stacked on the CIGS cells to construct tandem cells. The tandem solar cell with the CGS cell as the top cell showed an efficiency of 7.4% and an open‐circuit voltage of 1.18 V (AM 1.5, total area). Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A thin‐film silicon solar cell and module

We have developed a new light‐trapping scheme for a thin‐film Si stacked module (Si HYBRID PULS module), where a (a‐Si:H/transparent interlayer/microcrystalline Si) thin‐film was integrated into a large‐area solar cell module. An initial aperture efficiency of 13·1% has been achieved for a 910 × 455 mm Si HYBRID PLUS module, which was independently confirmed by AIST. This is the first report of the independently confirmed efficiency of a large‐area thin‐film Si module with an interlayer. The 19% increase of short‐circuit current of this module was obtained by the introduction of a transparent interlayer that caused internal light‐trapping. A mini‐module was shown to exhibit a stabilized efficiency of 12%. Outdoor performance of a Si HYBRID (a‐Si:H / micro‐crystalline Si stacked) solar cell module has been investigated for over 4 years with two different kinds of module (top and bottom cell limited, respectively). The HYBRID modules limited by the top cell have exhibited a more efficient performance than the modules limited by the bottom cell, in natural sunlight at noon. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Wire bonding as a cell interconnection technique for polycrystalline silicon thin‐film solar cells on glass

The interconnection of solar cells is a critical part of photovoltaic module fabrication. In this paper, a high‐yield, low‐cost method for interconnecting polycrystalline silicon thin‐film solar cells on glass is presented. The method consists of forming adjacent, electrically isolated groves across the cells using laser scribing, and then forming wire bonds over each laser scribe, resulting in series interconnection of the individual solar cells. Wire bonds are also used to connect the first and last solar cell in the string to external (tabbing) leads, forming a mini‐module. A layer of white paint is then applied, which acts as both an encapsulation layer and an additional back surface reflector. Using this method, an 8·3% efficient mini‐module has been fabricated. By exploiting recent developments in wire bonding technology, it appears that this process can be automated and will be capable of forming solar cell interconnections on large‐area modules within relatively short processing times (∼10 min for a 1 m² module). Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.