The role of an amorphous SiC:H `buffer' in the high-performanceμc-SiC:H/a-SiC:H/poly-Si heterojunction solar cells

High-efficiency solar cells have been developed using relatively simple processing at low temperatures up to 300°C. The cells studied were p⁺ μc-SiC:H/p a-SiC:H (buffer)/n poly-Si and n⁺ μc-SiC:H/n a-SiC:H (buffer)/p poly-Si heterojunctions fabricated by the electron cyclotron resonance (ECR) plasma chemical vapor deposition (CVD) method. The thin amorphous buffer layer played an important role in improving the photovoltaic performance. The optimization of the buffer layer thickness resulted in a conversion efficiency of η=15.4% under AM1 solar simulated radiation of 100 mW/cm²