Structural defects caused by a rough substrate and their influence on the performance of hydrogenated nano-crystalline silicon n-i-p solar cells |
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Authors: | Hongbo B.T. Li Ronald H. Franken Jatindra K. Rath Ruud E.I. Schropp |
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Affiliation: | Nanophotonics—Physics of Devices, Debye Institute for Nanomaterials Science, Faculty of Science, Utrecht University, P.O. Box 80.000, 3508 TA Utrecht, The Netherlands |
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Abstract: | We present a cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy study of a set of hydrogenated nano-crystalline silicon n-i-p solar cells deposited by hot-wire chemical vapour deposition on Corning glass substrates coated with ZnO-covered Ag layers with various surface roughnesses. Strip-like structural defects (voids and low-density areas) are observed in the silicon layers originating from micro-valleys of Ag grains. A correlation between the opening angles of the textured surface and the appearance of these strips was found. We propose that in order to grow high-quality hydrogenated nano-crystalline silicon absorber layers for solar cell applications, the morphology of the Ag surface is a critical property, and the micro-valleys at the ZnO surface with an opening angle smaller than around 110° should be avoided. |
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Keywords: | Nano-crystalline silicon Solar cell Rough substrate Chemical vapour deposition |
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