Microcrystalline Silicon Thin-Film Solar Cells Prepared at Low Temperature

2001 ◽  
Vol 664 ◽  
Author(s):  
Y. Nasuno ◽  
M. Kondo ◽  
A. Matsuda
Keyword(s):  
Solar Cells ◽  
Low Temperature ◽  
High Efficiency ◽  
Short Circuit ◽  
High Rate ◽  
Rf Plasma ◽  
Microcrystalline Silicon ◽  
Silicon Thin Film ◽  
Low Temperature Deposition ◽  
Temperature Deposition

ABSTRACTHydrogenated microcrystalline silicon (µc-Si:H) p-i-n solar cells have been prepared using a conventional RF plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) method at a low process temperature of 140 °C. The low temperature deposition of µc-Si:H has been found to be effective to suppress the formation of oxygen-related donors that cause a reduction in open circuit voltage (Voc) due to shunt leakage. We demonstrate the improvement of Voc by lowering the deposition temperature down to 140, while suppressing the reduction in high short circuit current density (Jsc) and fill factor (FF). A high efficiency of 8.9% was obtained using an Aasahi-U substrate. Furthermore, by optimizing textured structures on ZnO transparent conductive oxide (TCO) substrates, an efficiency of 9.4% (Voc=0.526V, Jsc=25.3mA/cm2, FF=0.710) was obtained. In addition, relatively high efficiency of 8.1% was achieved using VHF (60MHz) plasma at a deposition rate of 12 Å/s. Thus, this low temperature deposition technique for µc-Si:H is promising for both high efficiency and high rate deposition of µc-Si:H solar cells.

Comparison of high efficiency flexible CdTe solar cells on different substrates at low temperature deposition

Solar Energy ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 139 ◽  
pp. 13-18 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrei Salavei ◽  
Daniele Menossi ◽  
Fabio Piccinelli ◽  
Arun Kumar ◽  
Gino Mariotto ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Solar Cells ◽  
Low Temperature ◽  
High Efficiency ◽  
Cdte Solar Cells ◽  
Low Temperature Deposition ◽  
Temperature Deposition

scholarly journals The “Micromorph” Cell: a New Way to High-Efficiency-Low-Temperature Crystalline Silicon Thin-Film Cell Manufacturing?

1996 ◽  
Vol 452 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. Keppner ◽  
P. Torres ◽  
J. Meier ◽  
R. Platz ◽  
D. Fischer ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Thin Film ◽  
Solar Cells ◽  
Solar Cell ◽  
Low Temperature ◽  
High Efficiency ◽  
Crystalline Silicon ◽  
Microcrystalline Silicon ◽  
Silicon Thin Film ◽  
Cell Manufacturing ◽  
Manufacturing Techniques

AbstractIn the past, microcrystalline silicon (μc-Si:H) has been successfully used as active semiconductor in entirely μc-Si:H p-i-n solar cells and a new type of tandem solar cell, called the “micromorph” cell, was introduced [1]. Micromorph cells consist of an amorphous silicon top cell and a microcrystalline bottom cell. In the paper a micromorph cell with a stable efficiency of 10.7 % (confirmed by ISE Freiburg) is reported.Among sofar existing crystalline silicon-based solar cell manufacturing techniques, the application of microcrystalline silicon is a new promising way towards implementing thin-film silicon solar cells with a low temperature deposition. Microcrystalline silicon can, indeed, be deposited at temperatures as low as 220°C; hence, the way is here open to use cheap substrates as, e.g. plastic or glass. In the present paper, the development of single and tandem cells containing microcrystalline silicon is reviewed. As stated in previous publications, microcrystalline silicon technique has at present a severe drawback that has yet to be overcome: Its deposition rate for solar-grade material is about 2Å/s; in a more recent case 4.3 Å/s [2] could be obtained. In the present paper, using suitable mixtures of silane, hydrogen and argon, deposition rates of 9.4 Å/s are presented. Thereby the dominating plasma mechanism and the basic properties of resulting layers are described in detail. A first entirely microcrystalline cell deposited at 8.7 Å/s has an efficiency of 3.15%.

High-Rate Plasma Process for Microcrystalline Silicon: Over 9% Efficiency Single Junction Solar Cells

2004 ◽  
Vol 808 ◽  
Author(s):  
Takuya Matsui ◽  
Akihisa Matsuda ◽  
Michio Kondo
Keyword(s):  
High Pressure ◽  
Solar Cells ◽  
Solar Cell ◽  
High Efficiency ◽  
Dominant Role ◽  
Short Circuit ◽  
Chemical Vapor ◽  
High Rate ◽  
Microcrystalline Silicon ◽  
Deposition Pressure

ABSTRACTThis paper presents microcrystalline silicon (μ c-Si:H) p-i-n (superstrate-type) solar cells fabricated by 100 MHz plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) at i-layer deposition rates of >2 nm/s. Under high-rate conditions, in particular, the deposition pressure is found to play a dominant role in determining short circuit current (Jsc) of solar cell. With anincrease in deposition pressure from 3 to 7-9 Torr, Jsc increases by more than 50% due to a significant improvement in the long wavelength (>600 nm) responses, which essentially leads to high efficiency (∼8%) solar cells in the 2-3 nm/s deposition rate range. Further progress in solar cell efficiency has been made by the improvement of TCO/p and p/i interfaces. As a result, efficiency reaches 9.13% (Jsc=23.7 mA/cm2,Voc=0.528 V,FF=0.73) with a 2.3μm-thick i-layer grown at 2.3 nm/s. Transmission electron microscopy and secondary-ion mass spectroscopy studies reveal that samples prepared at lower pressure (∼4 Torr) comprise many grain boundaries due to disordered grain growth, which induces an anomalous incorporation of atmospheric impurities (predominantly oxygen) after exposing sample to air. In contrast, the high-pressure process (<7 Torr) provides denser grain columns coalesced with [110]-oriented crystallites, which in turn inhibits impurities from penetrating deeper in the film. Based on above results, we propose that the less post-oxidation behavior associated with the denser microstructure of high-pressure-grown μc-Si:H is responsible for the excellent charge collection in p-i-n solar cells.

Technique for High-Rate, Low-Temperature Deposition of TiO2Photocatalytic Thin Film Using Radical-Assisted Sputtering

2011 ◽  
Vol 50 (1R) ◽  
pp. 010204 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daisuke Noguchi ◽  
Tomohiro Eto ◽  
Kazuya Kodama ◽  
Yukie Higashimaru ◽  
Shoji Fukudome ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Thin Film ◽  
Low Temperature ◽  
High Rate ◽  
Low Temperature Deposition ◽  
Temperature Deposition
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