Light-Induced Degradation in Solar Cells with Hydrogenated Amorphous Silicon-Sulfur Active Layers

2002 ◽  
Vol 715 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wei Xu ◽  
P. C. Taylor
Keyword(s):  
Solar Cells ◽  
Practical Importance ◽  
Chemical Vapor ◽  
Photovoltaic Devices ◽  
Sulfur Concentration ◽  
Active Layers ◽  
Conversion Efficiencies ◽  
Hydrogenated Amorphous ◽  
Secondary Ion ◽  
Initial Conversion

AbstractWe have made a series of a-SiSx:H based solar cells, with a pin structure, in a multichamber plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) system. The sulfur concentration ranges from zero to 5 x 1018 cm-3 as measured by secondary ion mass spectroscopy. The initial conversion efficiencies of cells in this series with sulfur concentrations ≤ 1018 cm-3 are approximately 7%. The time constants for degradation increase with increasing sulfur concentration, but not fast enough to be of practical importance in photovoltaic devices.

Improvement of Single-Junction a-Si:H Thin-Film Solar Cells Toward 10% Efficiency

2011 ◽  
Vol 1321 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. H. Cheng ◽  
S. W. Liang ◽  
Y. P. Lin ◽  
H. J. Hsu ◽  
C. H. Hsu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Thin Film ◽  
Solar Cells ◽  
Amorphous Silicon ◽  
Chemical Vapor ◽  
Thin Film Solar Cells ◽  
Window Layer ◽  
Electron Hole ◽  
Single Junction ◽  
Boron Doped ◽  
Hydrogenated Amorphous

ABSTRACTThe hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) single-junction thin-film solar cells were fabricated on SnO2:F-coated glasses by plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) system. The boron-doped amorphous silicon carbide (a-SiC:H) was served as the window layer (p-layer) and the undoped a-SiC:H was used as a buffer layer (b-layer). The optimization of the p/b/i/n thin-films in a-Si:H solar cells have been carried out and discussed. Considering the effects of light absorption, electron-hole extraction and light-induced degradation, the thicknesses of p, b, n and i layers have been optimized. The optimal a-Si:H thin-film solar cell having an efficiency of 9.46% was achieved, with VOC=906 mV, JSC=14.42 mA/cm2 and FF=72.36%.

Efficient 18 Å/s Solar Cells with All Silicon Layers Deposited by Hot-Wire Chemical Vapor Deposition

2000 ◽  
Vol 609 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qi Wang ◽  
Eugene Iwaniczko ◽  
Yueqin Xu ◽  
Wei Gao ◽  
Brent P. Nelson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Solar Cells ◽  
Chemical Vapor Deposition ◽  
Vapor Deposition ◽  
Deposition Time ◽  
Chemical Vapor ◽  
Open Circuit ◽  
Hot Wire ◽  
Edge Layer ◽  
Hydrogenated Amorphous ◽  
Sun Light

ABSTRACTEfficient hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) n-i-p solar cells have been fabricated with all doped and undoped a-Si:H layers deposited by hot-wire chemical vapor deposition (HWCVD). The total deposition time of all layers, except the top ITO-contact, is less than 4 minutes. On an untextured stainless steel (SS) substrate, an initial efficiency of 7.12% is reached, with a stable efficiency of 5.4% after 1000 hours 1 sun light soaking. This initial efficiency is reached by incorporating into the p/i interface about 60 Å of intrinsic a-Si:H “edge” material grown under conditions near the transition to microcrystallinity. This edge layer increases the cell's fill factor from 0.60 to 0.68 and the best open-circuit voltage is about 0.88 V. Using textured Ag/ZnOcoated SS supplied by United Solar Corporation, preliminary results of an all-HWCVD solar cell give an initial efficiency of 8.7 %.

scholarly journals Investigations aimed at producing 33% efficient perovskite–silicon tandem solar cells through device simulations

RSC Advances ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (59) ◽  
pp. 37366-37374
Author(s):  
Nikhil Shrivastav ◽  
Jaya Madan ◽  
Rahul Pandey ◽  
Ahmed Esmail Shalan
Keyword(s):  
Solar Cells ◽  
Conversion Efficiency ◽  
Photovoltaic Devices ◽  
Tandem Solar Cells ◽  
Silicon Based ◽  
Conversion Efficiencies

The conversion efficiencies for silicon-based photovoltaic devices have become stagnant, with the record conversion efficiency of 26.7% achieved in 2017.

Stability of P-I-N Amorphous Silicon Solar Cells with Boron-Doped and Undoped I-Layers

1985 ◽  
Vol 49 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anthony Catalano ◽  
Rajeewa R. Arya ◽  
Ralph C. Kerns
Keyword(s):  
Solar Cells ◽  
Amorphous Silicon ◽  
Boron Doping ◽  
Poor Quality ◽  
Silicon Solar Cells ◽  
Device Performance ◽  
Layer Material ◽  
Boron Doped ◽  
Conversion Efficiencies ◽  
Initial Conversion

AbstractBoron-doping the i-layer in p-i-n amorphous silicon solar cells improves the device performance when the density of impurities in the undoped i-layer material is high (< 1020 cm-3). While this technique can boost the initial device efficiencies for poor quality i-layer material, our devices degrade faster than devices made with undoped, low impurity i-layer material. We have measured the degradation of photovoltaic parameters as a function of continuous AM1 exposure time for devices with and without B-doped i-layers. For single junction p-i-n solar cells with comparable initial conversion efficiencies (< 7%, area < 1cm2) we find that our devices containing i-layers deposited from gas mixtures containing 2–3 ppm diborane degrade faster than devices containing undoped i-layers. Similar effects are observed when two-junction stacked cells with B-doped i-layers are compared to two-junction stacked cells with undoped i-layers.

Showerhead-Assisted Chemical Vapor Deposition of Perovskite Films for Solar Cell Application

MRS Advances ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (8-9) ◽  
pp. 385-393
Author(s):  
S. Sanders ◽  
D. Stümmler ◽  
J. D. Gerber ◽  
J. H. Seidel ◽  
G. Simkus ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Solar Cells ◽  
Chemical Vapor Deposition ◽  
Gas Phase ◽  
Vapor Deposition ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Perovskite Solar Cells ◽  
Chemical Vapor ◽  
Solar Cell Application ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Conversion Efficiencies

AbstractIn the last years, perovskite solar cells have attracted great interest in photovoltaic (PV) research due to their possibility to become a highly efficient and low-cost alternative to silicon solar cells. Cells based on the widely used Pb-containing perovskites have reached power conversion efficiencies (PCE) of more than 20 %. One of the major hurdles for the rapid commercialization of perovskite photovoltaics is the lack of deposition tools and processes for large areas. Chemical vapor deposition (CVD) is an appealing technique because it is scalable and furthermore features superior process control and reproducibility in depositing high-purity films. In this work, we present a novel showerhead-based CVD tool to fabricate perovskite films by simultaneous delivery of precursors from the gas phase. We highlight the control of the perovskite film composition and properties by adjusting the individual precursor deposition rates. Providing the optimal supply of precursors results in stoichiometric perovskite films without any detectable residues.

Characterization of Amorphous Silicon Thin Films Deposited on Upilex-s Polyimide Substrates for Application in Flexible Solar Cells

2009 ◽  
Vol 87-88 ◽  
pp. 416-421 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ying Ge Li ◽  
Dong Xing Du
Keyword(s):  
Solar Cells ◽  
Amorphous Silicon ◽  
Flexible Electronics ◽  
Vapor Deposition ◽  
Chemical Vapor ◽  
Dark Conductivity ◽  
Conductivity Measurements ◽  
Silicon Thin Films ◽  
Hydrogenated Amorphous

Upilex-s [poly(biphenyl dianhydride-p-phenylene diamine)] polyimide have been widely employed in the area of flexible electronics. For its potential application on fabricating flexible solar cells, the optical properties of Upilex-s are measured in this paper. Intrinsic hydrogenated amorphous silicon layers are then deposited on Upilex-s substrates at temperatures 100°C and 180°C by plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) system. As an comparison, intrinsic a-Si:H layers are also fabricated on glass substrate of Corning2000. Both layers on flexible and rigid substrates are thoroughly characterized by activation energy and dark conductivity measurements. It can be concluded that the intrinsic layer on Upilex-s has favorable properties and could be a competitive candidate as substrate materials of flexible solar cells.

Improved metastability and performance of amorphous silicon solar cells

2014 ◽  
Vol 1666 ◽  
Author(s):  
Takuya Matsui ◽  
Adrien Bidiville ◽  
Hitoshi Sai ◽  
Takashi Suezaki ◽  
Mitsuhiro Matsumoto ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Solar Cells ◽  
Solar Cell ◽  
Amorphous Silicon ◽  
High Efficiency ◽  
Chemical Vapor ◽  
Silicon Solar Cells ◽  
Cell Temperature ◽  
Single Junction Solar Cell ◽  
And Performance ◽  
Hydrogenated Amorphous

ABSTRACTWe show that high-efficiency and low-degradation hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) p-i-n solar cells can be obtained by depositing absorber layers in a triode-type plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) process. Although the deposition rate is relatively low (0.01-0.03 nm/s) compared to the conventional diode-type PECVD process (∼0.2 nm/s), the light-induced degradation in conversion efficiency of single-junction solar cell is substantially reduced (Δη/ηini∼10%) due to the suppression of light-induced metastable defects in the a-Si:H absorber layer. So far, we have attained an independently-confirmed stabilized efficiency of 10.11% for a 220-nm-thick a-Si:H solar cell which was light soaked under 1 sun illumination for 1000 hours at cell temperature of 50°C. We further demonstrate that stabilized efficiencies as high as 10% can be maintained even when the solar cell is thickened to >300 nm.

Structural Evolution of Top-Junction a-Si:C:H:B and Mixed-Phase (Microcrystalline Si)-(a-Sil-xCx:H) p-Layers in a-Si:H n-i-p Solar Cells

1996 ◽  
Vol 420 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joohyun Koh ◽  
J. S. Burnham ◽  
Yeeheng Li ◽  
Hongyue Liu ◽  
Ing-Shin Chen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Solar Cells ◽  
Volume Fraction ◽  
Structural Evolution ◽  
Chemical Vapor ◽  
Open Circuit ◽  
Mixed Phase ◽  
Continuous Film ◽  
Layer Deposition ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Hydrogenated Amorphous

AbstractWe have applied real time spectroellipsometry (RTSE) to study hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) solar cells fabricated in the Cr/n-i-p configuration using plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) in a single-chamber system. The microstructural evolution of the n-, i-, and p-layers of the devices has been determined, including the thicknesses of the bulk, interface, and surface roughness layers versus time. The optical properties of the individual layers, including the dielectric functions and optical gaps, have also been obtained in the same analysis. In this study, we have focused on i/p interface formation and, in particular, on the nucleation process for differently-prepared a-Si:C:H and mixed-phase μc-Si:H/a-Si1-xCx:H p-layers on the a-Si:H i-layer. From the thickness dependence of the p-layer void volume fraction, we can obtain an estimate of the thickness at which nuclei make contact to form a continuous film. For the mixed-phase p-layers, the nuclei contact thickness can be reduced by exposing the i-layer to a H2-plasma prior to p-layer deposition. We have found that for similarly-prepared p-layers this reduction in contact thickness leads to an increase in open-circuit voltage of the solar cell

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