In and Ga Codoped ZnO Film as a Front Electrode for Thin Film Silicon Solar Cells

Doped ZnO thin films have attracted much attention in the research community as front-contact transparent conducting electrodes in thin film silicon solar cells. The prerequisite in both low resistivity and high transmittance in visible and near-infrared region for hydrogenated microcrystalline or amorphous/microcrystalline tandem thin film silicon solar cells has promoted further improvements of this material. In this work, we propose the combination of major Ga and minor In impurities codoped in ZnO film (IGZO) to improve the film optoelectronic properties. A wide range of Ga and In contents in sputtering targets was explored to find optimum optical and electrical properties of deposited films. The results show that an appropriate combination of In and Ga atoms in ZnO material, followed by in-air thermal annealing process, can enhance the crystallization, conductivity, and transmittance of IGZO thin films, which can be well used as front-contact electrodes in thin film silicon solar cells.

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Developments of c-Si1-xGex:H thin films as near-infrared absorber for thin film silicon solar cells

Acta Physica Sinica ◽

10.7498/aps.65.146801 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 65 (14) ◽

pp. 146801

Author(s):

Cao Yu ◽

Xue Lei ◽

Zhou Jing ◽

Wang Yi-Jun ◽

Ni Jian ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Thin Film ◽

Thin Films ◽

Solar Cells ◽

Near Infrared ◽

Silicon Solar Cells ◽

Thin Film Silicon

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Periodic textures for enhanced current in thin film silicon solar cells

MRS Proceedings ◽

10.1557/proc-1101-kk13-01 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 1101 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Franz-Josef Haug ◽

Thomas Söderström ◽

Oscar Cubero ◽

Vanessa Terrazzoni-Daudrix ◽

Xavier Niquille ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Thin Film ◽

Solar Cells ◽

Periodic Structures ◽

Plastic Substrate ◽

Silicon Solar Cells ◽

Sinusoidal Grating ◽

Thin Film Silicon ◽

Wide Range ◽

The Individual ◽

High Degree

AbstractFor thin film silicon solar cells it is vital to increase the optical path of light in the absorber because this allows for thinner cells with better stability and higher production throughput. We discuss the effect of periodically textured interfaces for the case of thin film silicon solar cells in n-i-p configuration using embossed plastic substrate which allows us studying the effect of a wide range of random or periodic textures. Due to the moderate thickness of the individual layers the texture is carried into each interface with a high degree of conformity even for the front contact which is the last layer. Solar cells on periodic structures show excellent performance; in a microcrystalline cell on a simple sinusoidal grating we achieved a gain in current density of 30%. Furthermore, the periodicity serves as a useful tool for the study of light management because the underlying phenomena like diffraction or grating coupling to plasma excitations of the metallic back reflector are governed by a relatively low number of well defined parameters like the periodicity and the amplitude of the grating.

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