Optoelectronic Properties of Thin Amorphous and Micro-Crystalline p-Type Films Developed for Amorphous Silicon-Based Solar Cells

1996 ◽  
Vol 420 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. Winz ◽  
B. Rech ◽  
T. H. Eickhoff ◽  
C. Beneking ◽  
C. M. Fortmann ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Solar Cells ◽  
Solar Cell ◽  
Amorphous Silicon ◽  
Crystalline Silicon ◽  
Short Circuit ◽  
Short Circuit Current ◽  
Glass Substrates ◽  
Cell Structures ◽  
Silicon Carbon ◽  
P Type

AbstractVIIF-PECVD at 110 MI-z was used to deposit micro-crystalline p-layers on glass substrates for detailed analysis and onto ZnO coated substrates for incorporation into p-i-n solar cell structures. Solar cell and film analysis confirmed that the films incorporated into the solar cells contained significant crystalline silicon volume fractions despite being only 30 nm thick. The p-i-n solar cells employing a micro-crystalline silicon p-layer deposited on ZnO coated substrates had series resistances, fill factors and Voc similar to those of the reference solar cells deposited onto SnO2 coated substrates and having optimized amorphous silicon-carbon p-layers. The short circuit current of the micro-crystalline p-layer case was 10 percent lower than that of the reference cell indicating that further optimization is required.

17.8%-efficient Amorphous Silicon Heterojunction Solar Cells on p-type Silicon Wafers

2006 ◽  
Vol 910 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qi Wang ◽  
Matt P. Page ◽  
Eugene Iwancizko ◽  
Yueqin Xu ◽  
Yanfa Yan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Solar Cells ◽  
Solar Cell ◽  
Amorphous Silicon ◽  
High Efficiency ◽  
Short Circuit ◽  
Open Circuit ◽  
Layer Growth ◽  
Surface Recombination Velocity ◽  
Back Contact ◽  
P Type

AbstractWe have achieved an independently-confirmed 17.8% conversion efficiency in a 1-cm2, p-type, float-zone silicon (FZ-Si) based heterojunction solar cell. Both the front emitter and back contact are hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) deposited by hot-wire chemical vapor deposition (HWCVD). This is the highest reported efficiency for a HWCVD silicon heterojunction (SHJ) solar cell. Two main improvements lead to our most recent increases in efficiency: 1) the use of textured Si wafers, and 2) the application of a-Si:H heterojunctions on both sides of the cell. Despite the use of textured c-Si to increase the short-circuit current, we were able to maintain the same 0.65 V open-circuit voltage as on flat c-Si. This is achieved by coating a-Si:H conformally on the c-Si surfaces, including covering the tips of the anisotropically-etched pyramids. A brief atomic H treatment before emitter deposition is not necessary on the textured wafers, though it was helpful in the flat wafers. It is essential to high efficiency SHJ solar cells that the emitter grows abruptly as amorphous silicon, instead of as microcrystalline or epitaxial Si. The contact on each side of the cell comprises a thin (< 5 nm) low substrate temperature (~100°C) intrinsic a-Si:H layer, followed by a doped layer. Our intrinsic layers are deposited at 0.3-1.2 nm/s. The doped emitter and back-contact layers were deposited at a higher temperature (>200°C) and grown from PH3/SiH4/H2 and B2H6/SiH4/H2 doping gas mixtures, respectively. This combination of low (intrinsic) and high (doped layer) growth temperatures was optimized by lifetime and surface recombination velocity measurements. Our rapid efficiency advance suggests that HWCVD may have advantages over plasma-enhanced (PE) CVD in fabrication of high-efficiency heterojunction c-Si cells; there is no need for process optimization to avoid plasma damage to the delicate, high-quality, Si wafers.

scholarly journals Analytical Study of the Electrical Output Characteristics of c-Si Solar Cells by Cut and Shading Phenomena

Energies ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 11 (12) ◽  
pp. 3397 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jong Lim ◽  
Woo Shin ◽  
Hyemi Hwang ◽  
Young-Chul Ju ◽  
Suk Ko ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Solar Cells ◽  
Solar Cell ◽  
Crystalline Silicon ◽  
Short Circuit ◽  
Incident Light ◽  
Short Circuit Current ◽  
Open Circuit ◽  
Si Solar Cell ◽  
Si Solar Cells ◽  
Electrical Output

Cut solar cells have received considerable attention recently as they can reduce electrical output degradation when the c-Si solar cells (crystalline-silicon solar cells) are shaded. Cut c-Si solar cells have a lower short-circuit current than normal solar cells and the decrease in short-circuit currents is similar to the shading effect of c-Si solar cells. However, the results of this study’s experiment show that the shadow effect of a c-Si solar cell reduces the V o c (open circuit voltage) in the c-Si solar cell but the V o c does not change when the c-Si solar cell is cut because the amount of incident light does not change. In this paper, the limitations of the electrical power analysis of the cut solar cells were identified when only photo current was considered and the analysis of the electric output of the cut c-Si solar cells was interpreted with a method different from that used in previous analyses. Electrical output was measured when the shaded and cut rates of c-Si solar cells were increased from 0% to 25, 50 and 75%, and a new theoretical model was compared with the experimental results using MATLAB.

scholarly journals Improvement of short circuit current of mono crystalline silicon solar cells

2013 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 48-56
Author(s):  
Vu Ngoc Hoang ◽  
Linh Ngoc Tran ◽  
Lan Truong ◽  
Khoa Thanh Nhat Phan ◽  
Chien Mau Dang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Solar Cells ◽  
Solar Cell ◽  
Indium Tin Oxide ◽  
Crystalline Silicon ◽  
Short Circuit ◽  
Front Surface ◽  
Short Circuit Current ◽  
Open Circuit ◽  
Crystalline Silicon Solar Cell ◽  
Antireflection Coatings

In this report we present series of experiments during which the short circuit current of mono crystalline silicon solar cell was improved step by step so as a consequence the efficiency was increased. At first, the front contact of solar cell was optimized to reduce the shadow loss and the series resistance. Then surface treatments were prepared by TMAH solution to reduce the total light reflectance and to improve the light trapping effect. Finally, antireflection coatings were deposited to passivate the front surface either by silicon nitride thin layer or to increase the collection probability by indium tin oxide layer, and to reduce the reflectance of light. As a result, solar cells of about 13% have been obtained, with the average open circuit voltage Voc about 527mV, with the fill factor about 68% and the short circuit current about 7.92 mA/cm2 under the irradiation density of 21 mW/cm2.

Shape-Controllable Surface Texturization for Crystalline Silicon Solar Cells

2008 ◽  
Vol 1101 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jong-San Im ◽  
Jin-Wan Jeon ◽  
Koeng Su Lim
Keyword(s):  
Solar Cells ◽  
Solar Cell ◽  
Inductively Coupled Plasma ◽  
Crystalline Silicon ◽  
Short Circuit ◽  
Short Circuit Current ◽  
Crystalline Silicon Solar Cells ◽  
Inductively Coupled ◽  
Polymer Dispersed Liquid Crystal ◽  
Polymer Dispersed

AbstractThis paper describes a new method to make surface textures for photovoltaic application. Using this method, we can make textures having various shapes. The first step is to make photo-resist (PR) molds using the polymer dispersed liquid crystal (PDLC) film. The second step is to transfer the PR molds to silicon by inductively coupled plasma etching process. The final step is a solar cell fabrication process. The structure of the solar cell is simple Al Grid/c-Si/Al back contact. The solar cells show the increase of the short circuit current (Jsc) comparing to the planar cells. By this texturing method, we can get solar cells having various textures which we want to make.

Influence of ITO layer application on electrical parameters of silicon solar cells with screen printed front electrode

2016 ◽  
Vol 33 (3) ◽  
pp. 172-175 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kazimierz Drabczyk ◽  
Jaroslaw Domaradzki ◽  
Grazyna Kulesza-Matlak ◽  
Marek Lipinski ◽  
Danuta Kaczmarek
Keyword(s):  
Solar Cells ◽  
Solar Cell ◽  
Crystalline Silicon ◽  
Short Circuit ◽  
Short Circuit Current ◽  
Electrical Performance ◽  
Silicon Solar Cells ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Crystalline Silicon Solar Cells ◽  
Screen Printed

Purpose The purpose of this paper was investigation and comparison of electrical and optical properties of crystalline silicon solar cells with ITO or TiO2 coating. The ITO, similar to TiO2, is very well transparent in the visible part of optical radiation; however, its low resistivity (lower that 10-3 Ohm/cm) makes it possible to use simultaneously as a transparent electrode for collection of photo-generated electrical charge carriers. This might also invoke increasing the distance between screen-printed metal fingers at the front of the solar cell that would increase of the cell’s active area. Performed optical investigation showed that applied ITO thin film fulfill standard requirements according to antireflection properties when it was deposited on the surface of silicon solar cell. Design/methodology/approach Two sets of samples were prepared for comparison. In the first one, the ITO thin film was deposited directly on the crystalline silicon substrate with highly doped emitter region. In the second case, the TCO film was deposited on the same type of silicon substrate but with additional ultrathin SiO2 passivation. The fingers lines of 80 μm width were then screen-printed on the ITO layer with two different spaces between fingers for each set. The influence of application of the ITO electrode and the type of metal electrodes patterns on the electrical performance of the prepared solar cells was investigated through optical and electrical measurements. Findings The electrical parameters such as short-circuit current (Jsc), open circuit voltage (Voc), fill factor (FF) and conversion efficiency were determined on a basis of I-V characteristics. Short-circuit current density (Jsc) was equal to 32 mA/cm2 for a solar cell with a typical antireflection layer and 31.5 mA/cm2 for the cell with ITO layer, respectively. Additionally, electroluminescence of prepared cells was measured and analysed. Originality/value The influence of the properties of ITO electrode on the electrical performance of crystalline silicon solar cells was investigated through complex optical, electrical and electroluminescence measurements.

scholarly journals PREPARATION AND CHARACTERIZATION OF P3HT-PCBM ORGANIC SOLAR CELLS

2013 ◽  
pp. 23-25
Author(s):  
ANUBHAV GUPTA ◽  
PRAVEEN S ◽  
ABHISHEK KUMAR ◽  
PRIYANKA SHREE ◽  
SUCHANA MISHRA
Keyword(s):  
Solar Cells ◽  
Solar Cell ◽  
Active Layer ◽  
Organic Solar Cells ◽  
Silicon Solar Cell ◽  
Short Circuit ◽  
Short Circuit Current ◽  
Open Circuit ◽  
Glass Substrates

Organic solar cells using P3HT: PCBM as an active layer on ITO coated glass substrates were fabricated and characterized. Different air annealing procedures and cathode materials were tried and the characteristics were compared with that of a standard thin film polycrystalline silicon solar cell. It was found that the sample prepared with post-deposition air annealing at 130 oC improves the open circuit voltage (Voc) considerably. Besides, short circuit current (Isc) and the efficiency (η) were highest for the sample with a non annealed active layer. Series resistance (Rs) for this sample was lowest, but 103 times higher than that of the silicon solar cell, which in turn may have reduced the efficiency value for the organic cell compared to silicon.

Measured and Simulated Temperature Dependence of A-Si:H Solar Cell Parameters

1996 ◽  
Vol 426 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. Stiebig ◽  
Th. Eickhoff ◽  
J. Zimmer ◽  
C. Beneking ◽  
H. Wagner
Keyword(s):  
Solar Cells ◽  
Solar Cell ◽  
Temperature Dependence ◽  
Crystalline Silicon ◽  
Short Circuit ◽  
Short Circuit Current ◽  
Open Circuit ◽  
Cell Parameters ◽  
Crystalline Silicon Solar Cells ◽  
Device Modelling

AbstractIn contrast to the successful application of analytic equations to the current-voltage behaviour of crystalline silicon solar cells in the dark and under AM1.5 illumination, the description of a-Si:H solar cells parameters requires device modelling concepts taking the full set of semiconductor equations into account. This in particular holds for the explanation of the temperature dependence (225–400K) of experimentally determined a-Si:H p-i-n solar cell parameters. Device modelling calculations show that the observed decrease of the short circuit current at AM 1.5 with lower T is much more effected by the additional charge trapped in the tail states and recharging of defect states than by the broadening of the gap. The induced electric field distortion blocks the extraction of photo generated holes. The open circuit voltage Voc increases with lower T which is caused by the same trapping effect.

Measured and Simulated Temperature Dependence of A-Si:H Solar Cell Parameters

1996 ◽  
Vol 420 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. Stiebig ◽  
Th. Eickhoff ◽  
J. Zimmer ◽  
C. Beneking ◽  
H. Wagner
Keyword(s):  
Solar Cells ◽  
Solar Cell ◽  
Temperature Dependence ◽  
Crystalline Silicon ◽  
Short Circuit ◽  
Short Circuit Current ◽  
Open Circuit ◽  
Cell Parameters ◽  
Crystalline Silicon Solar Cells ◽  
Device Modelling

AbstractIn contrast to the successful application of analytic equations to the current-voltage behaviour of crystalline silicon solar cells in the dark and under AM 1.5 illumination, the description of a-Si:H solar cells parameters requires device modelling concepts taking the full set of semiconductor equations into account. This in particular holds for the explanation of the temperature dependence (225-400K) of experimentally determined a-Si:H p-i-n solar cell parameters. Device modelling calculations show that the observed decrease of the short circuit current at AM 1.5 with lower T is much more effected by the additional charge trapped in the tail states and recharging of defect states than by the broadening of the gap. The induced electric field distortion blocks the extraction of photo generated holes. The open circuit voltage Voc increases with lower T which is caused by the same trapping effect.

Sb2S3/SnSe thin film solar cells by thermal evaporation

2014 ◽  
Vol 1670 ◽  
Author(s):  
José Escorcia-García ◽  
Enue Barrios-Salgado ◽  
M.T.S. Nair ◽  
P.K. Nair
Keyword(s):  
Thin Film ◽  
Thin Films ◽  
Solar Cell ◽  
Thermal Evaporation ◽  
Short Circuit ◽  
Short Circuit Current ◽  
Short Circuit Current Density ◽  
Open Circuit ◽  
Glass Substrates ◽  
Cell Structures

ABSTRACTWe report a stable CdS/Sb2S3/SnSe heterojunction thin film solar cell deposited on SnO2:F (FTO) – coated glass substrates. Thermal evaporation at 10-5 Torr with substrate temperature of 400 °C was used to deposit Sb2S3 and SnSe thin films of 450 nm and 160 nm, respectively. Thin film Sb2S3 has an optical band gap (Eg) of 1.48 eV and photoconductivity (σp) of 4x10-7 Ω-1 cm-1 and thin film SnSe has an Eg of 1.28 eV and σp of 2 Ω-1 cm-1. The chemically deposited CdS thin film heated at 400 °C shows an Eg of 2.34 eV and σp of 0.1 Ω-1 cm-1. Stabilized solar cell structures with these thin films, FTO/CdS/Sb2S3/SnSe/C-Ag, showed open circuit voltage (Voc) of 0.60 V, short circuit current density (Jsc) of 5.51 mA/cm2 and power conversion efficiency (η) of 0.96% with a fill factor FF of 0.29. In the absence of the SnSe layer, Jsc decreases to 4.77 mA/cm2.

scholarly journals CdTe-Based Thin Film Solar Cells: Past, Present and Future

Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (6) ◽  
pp. 1684
Author(s):  
Alessandro Romeo ◽  
Elisa Artegiani
Keyword(s):  
Thin Film ◽  
Solar Cells ◽  
Solar Cell ◽  
Short Circuit ◽  
Short Circuit Current ◽  
Short Circuit Current Density ◽  
Open Circuit ◽  
Early Years ◽  
Solar Cell Efficiency ◽  
Cell Efficiency

CdTe is a very robust and chemically stable material and for this reason its related solar cell thin film photovoltaic technology is now the only thin film technology in the first 10 top producers in the world. CdTe has an optimum band gap for the Schockley-Queisser limit and could deliver very high efficiencies as single junction device of more than 32%, with an open circuit voltage of 1 V and a short circuit current density exceeding 30 mA/cm2. CdTe solar cells were introduced at the beginning of the 70s and they have been studied and implemented particularly in the last 30 years. The strong improvement in efficiency in the last 5 years was obtained by a new redesign of the CdTe solar cell device reaching a single solar cell efficiency of 22.1% and a module efficiency of 19%. In this paper we describe the fabrication process following the history of the solar cell as it was developed in the early years up to the latest development and changes. Moreover the paper also presents future possible alternative absorbers and discusses the only apparently controversial environmental impacts of this fantastic technology.

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