Comparative Study of MVHF and RF Deposited Large Area Multi-junction Solar Cells Incorporating Hydrogenated Nano-Crystalline Silicon

2009 ◽  
Vol 1153 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xixiang Xu ◽  
Yang Li ◽  
Scott Ehlert ◽  
Tining Su ◽  
Dave Beglau ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Solar Cells ◽  
Crystalline Silicon ◽  
Steel Substrate ◽  
Process Conditions ◽  
Large Area ◽  
Very High Frequency ◽  
Cell Efficiency ◽  
Cell Structures ◽  
Nano Crystalline ◽  
Double Junction

AbstractWe report our investigations of large area multi-junction solar cells based on hydrogenated nano-crystalline silicon (nc-Si:H). We compared results from cells deposited by RF (13.56 MHz) at lower deposition rate (˜3 Å/s) and by Modified Very High Frequency (MVHF) at higher rate (≥ 10 Å/s). With optimized process conditions and cell structures, we have obtained ˜12% initial small active-area (˜0.25 cm2) efficiency for both RF and MVHF cells and 10˜11% large aperture-area (˜400 cm2) encapsulated MVHF cell efficiency for both a-Si:H/nc-Si:H double-junction and a-Si:H/nc-Si:H/nc-Si:H triple-junction structures on Ag/ZnO coated stainless steel substrate.

High Efficiency Large Area a-Si:H and a-SiGe:H Multi-junction Solar Cells Using MVHF at High Deposition Rate

2009 ◽  
Vol 1153 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xixiang Xu ◽  
Dave Beglau ◽  
Scott Ehlert ◽  
Yang Li ◽  
Tining Su ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Solar Cells ◽  
High Efficiency ◽  
High Deposition Rate ◽  
Discharge Process ◽  
Large Area ◽  
Very High Frequency ◽  
Cell Structures ◽  
Evolution Characteristics ◽  
Stable Performance ◽  
Sun Light

AbstractWe have developed high efficiency large area a-Si:H and a-SiGe:H multi-junction solar cells using a Modified Very High Frequency (MVHF) glow discharge process. We conducted a comparative study for different cell structures, and compared the initial and stable performance and light-induced degradation of solar cells made using MVHF and RF techniques. Besides high efficiency, the MVHF cells also demonstrate superior light stability, showing <10% degradation after 1000 hour of one-sun light soaking at 50 °C. We also studied light-induced defect level and hydrogen evolution characteristics of MVHF deposited a-SiGe:H films and compared them with the RF deposited films.

Study of Large Area a-Si:H and nc-Si:H Based Multijunction Solar Cells and Materials

2008 ◽  
Vol 1066 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xixiang Xu ◽  
Baojie Yan ◽  
Dave Beglau ◽  
Yang Li ◽  
Greg DeMaggio ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Solar Cells ◽  
Deposition Rate ◽  
Plasma Deposition ◽  
Nanocrystalline Silicon ◽  
High Rate ◽  
High Deposition Rate ◽  
Large Area ◽  
Very High Frequency ◽  
Spatial Uniformity ◽  
Double Junction

ABSTRACTSolar cells based on hydrogenated nanocrystalline silicon (nc-Si:H) have demonstrated significant improvement in the last few years. From the standpoint of commercial viability, good quality nc-Si:H films must be deposited at a high rate. In this paper, we present the results of our investigations on obtaining high quality nc-Si:H and a-Si:H films and solar cells over large areas using high deposition rate. We have employed the modified very high frequency (MVHF) glow discharge technique to realize high-rate deposition. Modeling studies were conducted to attain good spatial uniformity of electric field over a large area (15”×1”) MVHF cathode for nc-Si:H deposition. A comparative study has been carried out between the RF and MVHF plasma deposited a-Si:H and nc-Si:H single-junction and a-Si:H/nc-Si:H double-junction solar cells. By optimizing the nc-Si:H cell and the tunnel/recombination junctions, we have obtained an initial aperture-area (460 cm2) efficiency of 11.9% for a-Si:H/nc-Si:H double-junction cells using conventional RF (13.56 MHz) plasma deposition. The deposition rate was 3 Å/sec. Results on solar cells made with MVHF will also be presented.

A novel low cost texturization method for large area commercial mono-crystalline silicon solar cells

2006 ◽  
Vol 90 (20) ◽  
pp. 3557-3567 ◽  
Author(s):  
U. Gangopadhyay ◽  
K.H. Kim ◽  
S.K. Dhungel ◽  
U. Manna ◽  
P.K. Basu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Solar Cells ◽  
Crystalline Silicon ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Silicon Solar Cells ◽  
Large Area ◽  
Crystalline Silicon Solar Cells

Anti-reflection effect of large-area ZnO nano-needle array on multi-crystalline silicon solar cells

2022 ◽  
Vol 138 ◽  
pp. 106299
Author(s):  
Meihuizi Wang ◽  
Haiyan He ◽  
Chunhui Shou ◽  
Hao Cui ◽  
Deren Yang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Solar Cells ◽  
Crystalline Silicon ◽  
Silicon Solar Cells ◽  
Reflection Effect ◽  
Large Area ◽  
Crystalline Silicon Solar Cells

Advanced Deposition Phase Diagrams for Guiding Si:H-Based Multijunction Solar Cells

2007 ◽  
Vol 989 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jason Collins ◽  
Nikolas J. Podraza ◽  
Jian Li ◽  
Xinmin Cao ◽  
Xunming Deng ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Solar Cells ◽  
Phase Diagrams ◽  
Silicon Germanium ◽  
Chemical Vapor ◽  
Very High Frequency ◽  
Hydrogenated Silicon ◽  
Si Substrates ◽  
Cell Structures ◽  
Multijunction Solar Cells ◽  
Back Reflectors

AbstractPhase diagrams have been established to describe very high frequency (vhf) plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) processes for intrinsic hydrogenated silicon (Si:H) and silicon-germanium alloy (Si1-xGex:H) thin films using crystalline Si substrates that have been over-deposited with n-type amorphous Si:H (a-Si:H). The Si:H and Si1-xGex:H processes are applied for the top and middle i-layers of triple-junction a-Si:H-based n-i-p solar cells fabricated at University of Toledo. Identical n/i cell structures were co-deposited on textured Ag/ZnO back-reflectors in order to correlate the phase diagram and the performance of single-junction solar cells, the latter completed through over-deposition of the p-layer and top contact. This study has reaffirmed that the highest efficiencies for a-Si:H and a-Si1-xGex:H solar cells are obtained when the i-layers are prepared under maximal H2 dilution conditions.

scholarly journals Light trapping in hydrogenated amorphous and nano-crystalline silicon thin film solar cells

2009 ◽  
Vol 1153 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeffrey Yang ◽  
Baojie Yan ◽  
Guozhen Yue ◽  
Subhendu Guha
Keyword(s):  
Stainless Steel ◽  
Solar Cells ◽  
Triple Junction ◽  
Crystalline Silicon ◽  
Light Trapping ◽  
Nano Crystalline ◽  
Back Reflectors ◽  
Back Reflector ◽  
Junction Structure ◽  
Hydrogenated Amorphous

AbstractLight trapping effect in hydrogenated amorphous silicon-germanium alloy (a-SiGe:H) and nano-crystalline silicon (nc-Si:H) thin film solar cells deposited on stainless steel substrates with various back reflectors is reviewed. Structural and optical properties of the Ag/ZnO back reflectors are systematically characterized and correlated to solar cell performance, especially the enhancement in photocurrent. The light trapping method used in our current production lines employing an a-Si:H/a-SiGe:H/a-SiGe:H triple-junction structure consists of a bi-layer of Al/ZnO back reflector with relatively thin Al and ZnO layers. Such Al/ZnO back reflectors enhance the short-circuit current density, Jsc, by ˜20% compared to bare stainless steel. In the laboratory, we use Ag/ZnO back reflector for higher Jsc and efficiency. The gain in Jsc is about ˜30% for an a-SiGe:H single-junction cell used in the bottom cell of a multi-junction structure. In recent years, we have also worked on the optimization of Ag/ZnO back reflectors for nano-crystalline silicon (nc-Si:H) solar cells. We have carried out a systematic study on the effect of texture for Ag and ZnO. We found that for a thin ZnO layer, a textured Ag layer is necessary to increase Jsc, even though the parasitic loss is higher at the Ag and ZnO interface due to the textured Ag. However, a flat Ag can be used for a thick ZnO to reduce the parasitic loss, while the light scattering is provided by the textured ZnO. The gain in Jsc for nc-Si:H solar cells on Ag/ZnO back reflectors is in the range of ˜60-75% compared to cells deposited on bare stainless steel, which is much larger than the enhancement observed for a-SiGe:H cells. The highest total current density achieved in an a-Si:H/a-SiGe:H/nc-Si:H triple-junction structure on Ag/ZnO back reflector is 28.6 mA/cm2, while it is 26.9 mA/cm2 for a high efficiency a-Si:H/a-SiGe:H/a-SiGe:H triple-junction cell.

Large-Area Hydrogenated Amorphous and Microcrystalline Silicon Double-Junction Solar Cells

2004 ◽  
Vol 808 ◽  
Author(s):  
Baojie Yan ◽  
Guozhen Yue ◽  
Arindam Banerjee ◽  
Jeffrey Yang ◽  
Subhendu Guha
Keyword(s):  
Solar Cells ◽  
Deposition Time ◽  
High Rate ◽  
Microcrystalline Silicon ◽  
Large Area ◽  
Area Efficiency ◽  
Rf Glow Discharge ◽  
Double Junction ◽  
Junction Structure ◽  
Hydrogenated Amorphous

ABSTRACTHydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) and hydrogenated microcrystalline silicon ( c-Si:H) double-junction solar cells were deposited on a large-area substrate using a RF glow discharge technique at various rates. The thickness uniformity for both a-Si:H and c-Si:H is well within ± 10% and the reproducibility is very good. Preliminary results from the large-area a-Si:H/m c-Si:H double-junction structures show an initial aperture-area efficiency of 11.8% and 11.3%, respectively, for 45 cm2 and 461 cm2 size un-encapsulated solar cells. The 11.3% cell became 10.6% after encapsulation and stabilized at 9.5% after prolonged light soaking under 100 mW/cm2 of white light at 50°C. High rate deposition of the c-Si:H layer in the bottom cell was made using the high-pressure approach. An initial active-area (0.25 cm2) efficiency of 11.3% was achieved using an a-Si:H/m c-Si:H double-junction structure with 50 minutes of c-Si:H deposition time.

Optimization of sodium carbonate texturization on large-area crystalline silicon solar cells

2007 ◽  
Vol 91 (20) ◽  
pp. 1943-1947 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. Marrero ◽  
B. González-Díaz ◽  
R. Guerrero-Lemus ◽  
D. Borchert ◽  
C. Hernández-Rodríguez
Keyword(s):  
Solar Cells ◽  
Sodium Carbonate ◽  
Crystalline Silicon ◽  
Silicon Solar Cells ◽  
Large Area ◽  
Crystalline Silicon Solar Cells

Novel low cost chemical texturing for very large area industrial multi-crystalline silicon solar cells

2005 ◽  
Vol 20 (9) ◽  
pp. 938-946 ◽  
Author(s):  
U Gangopadhyay ◽  
S K Dhungel ◽  
K Kim ◽  
U Manna ◽  
P K Basu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Solar Cells ◽  
Crystalline Silicon ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Silicon Solar Cells ◽  
Large Area ◽  
Crystalline Silicon Solar Cells
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