Current transport studies of amorphous n/p junctions and its application in a‐Si:H/HIT‐type tandem cells

This paper presents an understanding of the fundamental carrier transport mechanism in hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a‐Si:H)‐based n/p junctions. These n/p junctions are, then, used as tunneling and recombination junctions (TRJ) in tandem solar cells, which were constructed by stacking the a‐Si:H‐based solar cell on the heterojunction with intrinsic thin layer (HIT) cell. First, the effect of activation energy (E_a) and Urbach parameter (E_u) of n‐type hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a‐Si:H(n)) on current transport in an a‐Si:H‐based n/p TRJ has been investigated. The photoluminescence spectra and temperature‐dependent current–voltage characteristics in dark condition indicates that the tunneling is the dominant carrier transport mechanism in our a‐Si:H‐based n/p‐type TRJ. The fabrication of a tandem cell structure consists of an a‐Si:H‐based top cell and an HIT‐type bottom cell with the a‐Si:H‐based n/p junction developed as a TRJ in between. The development of a‐Si:H‐based n/p junction as a TRJ leads to an improved a‐Si:H/HIT‐type tandem cell with a better open circuit voltage (V_oc), fill factor (FF), and efficiency. The improvements in the cell performance was attributed to the wider band‐tail states in the a‐Si:H(n) layer that helps to an enhanced tunneling and recombination process in the TRJ. The best photovoltage parameters of the tandem cell were found to be V_oc = 1430 mV, short circuit current density = 10.51 mA/cm², FF = 0.65, and efficiency = 9.75%. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Interface states characterization in heterojunction solar cells from CV-GV measurements and modeling

A new method is proposed to extract interface states density D_it at the hydrogenated amorphous/crystalline silicon interfaces (aSi:H/cSi) of heterojunction solar cells - HET. This technique based on CV and GV measurements consists in adapting standard electrical D_it models for MOS structures to the specific case of HET solar cells. In particular, a parasitic conductance is introduced to account for the high leakage current of the diode in the forward regime. The relevance and accuracy of such an analytical model is then demonstrated by comparison with experimental results and with more complex numerical approaches. Finally, this technique enables us to demonstrate the high quality of the interface of HET solar cells which exhibit D_it levels below 10¹¹ defects per cm².     

Experimental and simulated analysis of front versus all‐back‐contact silicon heterojunction solar cells: effect of interface and doped a‐Si:H layer defects

Front silicon heterojunction and interdigitated all‐back‐contact silicon heterojunction (IBC‐SHJ) solar cells have the potential for high efficiency and low cost because of their good surface passivation, heterojunction contacts, and low temperature fabrication processes. The performance of both heterojunction device structures depends on the interface between the crystalline silicon (c‐Si) and intrinsic amorphous silicon [(i)a‐Si:H] layer, and the defects in doped a‐Si:H emitter or base contact layers. In this paper, effective minority carrier lifetimes of c‐Si using symmetric passivation structures were measured and analyzed using an extended Shockley–Read–Hall formalism to determine the input interface parameters needed for a successful 2D simulation of fabricated baseline solar cells. Subsequently, the performance of front silicon heterojunction and IBC‐SHJ devices was simulated to determine the influence of defects at the (i)a‐Si:H/c‐Si interface and in the doped a‐Si:H layers. For the baseline device parameters, the difference between the two device configurations is caused by the emitter/base contact gap recombination and the back surface geometry of IBC‐SHJ solar cell. This work provides a guide to the optimization of both types of SHJ device performance, predicting an IBC‐SHJ solar cell efficiency of 25% for realistic material parameters. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Simulation analysis of the effects of a back surface field on a p-a-Si:H/n-c-Si/n+-a-Si:H heterojunction solar cell

In order to investigate the effects of a back surface field (BSF) on the performance of a p-doped amorphous silicon (p-a-Si:H)/n-doped crystalline silicon (n-c-Si) solar cell, a heterojunction solar cell with a p-a-Si:H/nc-Si/n+-a-Si:H structure was designed. An n+-a-Si:H film was deposited on the back of an n-c-Si wafer as the BSF.The photovoltaic performance of p-a-Si:H/n-c-Si/n+-a-Si:H solar cells were simulated. It was shown that the BSF of the p-a-Si:H/n-c-Si/n+-a-Si:H solar cells could effectively inhibit the decrease of the cell performance caused by interface states.     

Improvement of hydrogenated amorphous silicon germanium thin film solar cells by different p-type contact layer

In this study, we report an appreciably increased efficiency from 6% up to 9.1% of hydrogenated amorphous silicon germanium (a-SiGe:H) thin film solar cells by using a combination of different p-doped window layers, such as boron doped hydrogenated amorphous silicon (p-a-Si:H), amorphous silicon oxide (p-a-SiO_x:H), microcrystalline silicon (p-µc-Si:H), and microcrystalline silicon oxide (p-µc-SiO_x:H). Optoelectronic properties and the role of these p-layers in the enhancement of a-SiGe:H cell efficiency were also examined and discussed. An improvement of 1.62 mA/cm² in the short-circuit current density (J_sc) is attributed to the higher band gap of p-type silicon oxide layers. In addition, an increase in open-circuit voltage (V_oc) by 150 mV and fill factor (FF) by 6.93% is ascribed to significantly improved front TCO/p-layer interface contact.     

Adaptation of admittance analysis to extract interface traps of a-Si:H/c-Si heterojunctions

Complete admittance expressions, adapted from the equations previously presented for Metal/Oxide/Semiconductor (MOS) structure, were derived and modified admittance approach was successfully applied on a-Si:H/c-Si heterojunction to deduce surface state density (N_ss) by employing capacitance–voltage (C–V) and conductance–voltage (G/ω–V) measurements. Through the approach, N_ss was determined as 6×10¹² cm⁻² eV⁻¹ that was mutually checked by continuum model, used previously for evaluating N_ss in MOS structure. Furthermore, locating such an amount at the interface of a-Si:H and c-Si, experimentally measured C–V curve was reproduced through AFORS-HET simulation program. Presence of such a large amount of N_ss was originated due to native oxide layer, confirmed through spectroscopic elipsometry measurement.     

Voltage-tunable SiO2-isolated a-SiC:H and/or a-SiN:H p–i–n thin-film LEDs fabricated on c-Si

A voltage-tunable amorphous p–i–n thin-film light emitting diodes (TFLEDs) with SiO₂-isolation on n⁺-type crystalline silicon (c-Si) has been proposed and fabricated successfully. The structure of the device with i-a-SiC:H and i-a-SiN:H luminescent layers is indium–tin–oxide (ITO)/p⁺-a-Si:H/p⁺-a-SiC:H/i-a-SiC:H/i-a-SiN:H/n⁺-a-SiCGe: H/n⁺-a-SiC:H/n⁺-c-Si/Al. This device revealed a brightness of 695 cd/m² at an injection current density of 300 mA/cm². Its EL (electroluminescence) peak wavelength exhibited blue-shift from 655 to 565 nm with applied forward-bias (V) increasing from 15 to 19 V, but the EL peak wavelength was red-shifted from 565 to 670 nm with further increase of V from 19 to 23 V. By comparing with the EL spectra from p–i–n TFLEDs with i-a-SiC:H or i-a-SiN:H luminescent layer only, the EL spectrum of this TFLED could consist of three bands of radiations from the tail-to-tail-state recombinations in (1) i-a-SiC:H layer, (2) i-a-SiN:H layer, and (3) i-a-SiC:H/p⁺-a-SiC:H junction.     

a-SiOx:H passivation layers for Cz-Si wafer deposited by hot wire chemical vapor deposition

In order to get the high photoelectric conversion efficiency a-Si:H/c-Si solar cells, high quality intrinsic hydrogenated passivation layer between the a-Si:H emitter layer and the c-Si wafer is necessary. In this work, hot wire chemical vapor deposition (HWCVD) is used to deposite intrinsic oxygen-doped hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-SiO_x:H) and hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) films as the intrinsic passivation layer for a-Si:H/c-Si solar cells. The passivation effect of the films on the c-Si surface is shown by the effective lifetime of the samples that bifacial covered by the films with same deposition parameters, tested by QSSPC method. The imaginary part of dielectric constant (ε₂) and bonds structure of the layers are analyzed by Spectroscopic Ellipsometry(SE) and Fourier Transfom Infrared Spectroscopy(FTIR). It is concluded that: (1) HWCVD method can be used to make a-SiO_x:H films as the passivation layer for a-Si:H/c-Si cells and the oxidation of the filament can be overcome by optimizing the deposition parameters. In our experiments, the lowest surface recombination velocity of the c-Si wafer is 3.0 cm/s after a-SiO_x:H films passivation. (2) Oxygen-doping in the amorphous silicon layers can increase H content and the band-gap of films, similar as the phenomenon of the films deposited by PECVD.     

Structural and photoelectrical characteristics of Si/6H-SiC heterojunctions prepared by hot-wall chemical vapor deposition

Based on a potential application for the Si/SiC heterojunction to realize light control of SiC devices, structures and electrical properties of boron-doped silicon layer deposited on the n-type 6H-SiC substrate by hot-wall chemical vapor deposition were investigated in this paper.X-ray diffraction analysis and scanning electronic microscopy were used to characterize the crystal structure and morphology of the deposited silicon layer. Results of I–V and C–V measurements indicated that the heterojunction was abrupt manifesting obvious p–n junction properties. During the I–V measurement, the Si/SiC heterojunction developed a remarkable photovoltaic effect under illumination condition.     

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.     

高效硅基异质结太阳能电池的模拟

a-Si:H/c-Si异质结太阳能电池的基本参数,如层厚度、掺杂浓度、a-Si:H/c-Si界面缺陷、功函数等是影响载流子传输特性和电池效率的关键因素。在本文中,利用AFORS-HET程序,研究了这些参数与a-Si:H/c-Si电池的性能的关联性。最后,具有TCO/n-a-Si:H/i-a-Si:H/p-c-Si/p -a-Si:H/Ag结构的太阳能电池的最优化性能被获得,其光电转换效率为27.07%（VOC: 749 mV, JSC: 42.86 mA/cm2, FF: 84.33%）。深入地了解异质结电池的输运特性,对进一步提高电池的效率有很大的帮助,同时对实际太阳能电池的制造也能提供有益的指导。     

Photosensitivity of a-Si:H/n-InSe heterocontacts

Rectifying photosensitive structures were obtained for the first time by bringing the surfaces of thin films of amorphous hydrogenated silicon deposited onto the silica-glass substrates into direct optical contact with the InSe natural-cleavage surface. Spectral dependences of the quantum efficiency of the obtained heterocontacts were studied, and the prospects for the use of the new a-Si:H/n-InSe heterocontacts in solar cells were assessed.     

Influence of deposition pressure on p-type a-Si:H window layer doped by trimethylboron for a-Si:H superstrate solar cell in plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition

Wide bandgap (E_g) p-type window layer is very important for silicon based thin film solar cell to obtain high performance, especially high open-circuit voltage (V_OC). In this work, the influence of the deposition pressure on the properties of p-type a-Si:H window layer doped by trimethylboron (TMB) in plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) was investigated systematically by transmission, Raman, and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopies. As a result, high performance hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) p–i–n superstrate solar cell with V_OC up to 927 mV was successfully achieved on Asahi Type-U SnO₂:F coated glass. In this case, excellent wide bandgap p-type a-Si:H window layer was fabricated under a mild deposition condition, including a low hydrogen dilution ratio (H₂/SiH₄) of 20, a relatively high deposition temperature of 220 °C, which was also adopted for the i-layer and n-layer deposition, and a moderate deposition pressure of about 160 Pa. We think it is the compromise between wide E_g and good microstructure quality of the p-layer that brings about the good solar cell performance. Such p-type window layer will be very helpful for the fabrication of a-Si:H solar cell, especially of the cell finished in a single PECVD chamber, due to its mild deposition condition.     

Simulation and fabrication of heterojunction silicon solar cells from numerical computer and hot‐wire CVD

In this paper, we will present a Pc1D numerical simulation for heterojunction (HJ) silicon solar cells, and discuss their possibilities and limitations. By means of modeling and numerical computer simulation, the influence of emitter‐layer/intrinsic‐layer/crystalline‐Si heterostructures with different thickness and crystallinity on the solar cell performance is investigated and compared with hot wire chemical vapor deposition (HWCVD) experimental results. A new technique for characterization of n‐type microcrystalline silicon (n‐µc‐Si)/intrinsic amorphous silicon (i‐a‐Si)/crystalline silicon (c‐Si) heterojunction solar cells from Pc1D is developed. Results of numerical modeling as well as experimental data obtained using HWCVD on µc‐Si (n)/a‐Si (i)/c‐Si (p) heterojunction are presented. This work improves the understanding of HJ solar cells to derive arguments for design optimization. Some simulated parameters of solar cells were obtained: the best results for J_sc = 39·4 mA/cm², V_oc = 0·64 V, FF = 83%, and η = 21% have been achieved. After optimizing the deposition parameters of the n‐layer and the H₂ pretreatment of solar cell, the single‐side HJ solar cells with J_sc = 34·6 mA/cm², V_oc = 0·615 V, FF = 71%, and an efficiency of 15·2% have been achieved. The double‐side HJ solar cell with J_sc = 34·8 mA/cm², V_oc = 0·645 V, FF = 73%, and an efficiency of 16·4% has been fabricated. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Simulation analysis of the effects of a back surface field on a p-a-Si:H/n-c-Si/n+-a-Si:H heterojunction solar cell

In order to investigate the effects of a back surface field（BSF） on the performance of a p-doped amorphous silicon（p-a-Si：H）/n-doped crystalline silicon（n-c-Si） solar cell,a heterojunction solar cell with a p-a-Si：H/n-c-Si/n^＋-a-Si：H structure was designed.An n^＋-a-Si：H film was deposited on the back of an n-c-Si wafer as the BSF.The photovoltaic performance of p-a-Si：H/n-c-Si/n^＋-a-Si：H solar cells were simulated.It was shown that the BSF of the p-a-Si：H/n-c-Si/n^＋-a-Si：H solar cells could effectively inhibit the decrease of the cell performance caused by interface states.     

MOS solar cells with oxides deposited by sol-gel spin-coating techniques

The metal-oxide-semiconductor (MOS) solar cells with sol-gel derived silicon dioxides (SiO₂) deposited by spin coating are proposed in this study. The sol-gel derived SiO₂ layer is prepared at low temperature of 450°C. Such processes are simple and low-cost. These techniques are, therefore, useful for largescale and large-amount manufacturing in MOS solar cells. It is observed that the short-circuit current (I _sc) of 2.48 mA, the open-circuit voltage (V _os) of 0.44 V, the fill factor (FF) of 0.46 and the conversion efficiency (η%) of 2.01% were obtained by means of the current-voltage (I–V) measurements under AM 1.5 (100 mW/cm²) irradiance at 25°C in the MOS solar cell with sol-gel derived SiO₂.     

Improved photovoltaic properties of amorphous silicon thin-film solar cells with an un-doped silicon oxide layer

This paper proposes the use of undoped hydrogenated microcrystalline silicon oxide (μc-SiO_x:H) deposited on the n-μc-Si:H layer of amorphous silicon single-junction superstrate configuration thin-film solar cells produced through 40 MHz very high frequency plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition. Raman spectroscopy and optoelectronic analyses of the undoped μc-SiO_x:H thin film revealed that adding a small amount of oxygen into a μc-network results in a low optical absorption, wide band gap, high optical band gap E₀₄, high refractive index, reasonable conductivity, and crystalline volume fraction, which are advantageous properties in solar cells. Compared with a standard cell, the current density–voltage (J–V) characteristics of the cell with an undoped μc-SiO_x:H/n-μc-Si:H structure showed an enhancement in short-circuit current density J_sc from 13.32 to 13.60 mA/cm², and in conversion efficiency from 8.53% to 8.61%. The increased J_sc mechanism can be attributed to an improved light-trapping capability in the long wavelength range between 510 and 660 nm, as demonstrated by the external quantum efficiency.     

Optimization and characterization of amorphous/crystalline silicon heterojunction solar cells

Amorphous hydrogenated silicon/crystalline silicon (a‐Si:H/c‐Si) heterojunction solar cells are investigated and optimized with regard to efficiency and simplicity of processing. Starting with a survey of a‐Si:H/c‐Si heterojunction solar cell results from the literature, we describe the fabrication steps of our a‐Si:H/c‐Si technology and analyze the electronic device properties by quantum efficiency, current–voltage, admittance, and capacitance–voltage measurements. The open‐circuit voltage and the fill factor of the a‐Si:H/c‐Si heterojunction solar cells under investigation are limited by recombination in the neutral zone of the crystalline Si absorber. Recombination at the a‐Si:H/c‐Si‐interface is subsidiary in respect of the limitation of the open‐circuit voltage. Our best n‐type a‐Si:H/p‐type c‐Si solar cell prepared without high‐efficiency features such as back‐surface field or surface texturing has an independently confirmed efficiency of 14.1% and an open‐circuit voltage of 655 mV. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Optimization of interdigitated back contact silicon heterojunction solar cells: tailoring hetero‐interface band structures while maintaining surface passivation

Interdigitated back contact silicon heterojunction (IBC‐SHJ) solar cells have the potential for high open circuit voltage (V_OC) due to the surface passivation and heterojunction contacts, and high short circuit current density (J_SC) due to all back contact design. Intrinsic amorphous silicon (a‐Si:H) buffer layer at the rear surface improve the surface passivation hence V_OC and J_SC, but degrade fill factor (FF) from an “S” shape J–V curve. Two‐dimensional (2D) simulation using “Sentaurus device” demonstrates that the low FF is related to the valence band offset (energy barrier) at the hetero‐interface. Three approaches to the buffer layer are suggested to improve the FF: (1) reduced thickness, (2) increased conductivity, and/or (3) reduced band gap. Experimental IBC‐SHJ solar cells with reduced buffer thickness (<5 nm) and increased conductivity with low boron doping significantly improves FF, consistent with simulation. However, this has only marginal effect on efficiency since J_SC and V_OC also decrease due to poor surface passivation. A narrow band gap a‐Si:H buffer layer improves cell efficiency to 13.5% with unoptimized passivation quality. These results demonstrate that tailoring the hetero‐interface band structure is critical for achieving high FF. Simulations predicts that efficiences >23% are possible on planar devices with optimized pitch dimensions and achievable surface passivation, and 26% with light trapping. This work provides criterion to design IBC‐SHJ solar cell structures and optimize cell performance. Copyright © 2010 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.