Simulations of Buffer Layers in a-Si:H Thin Film Solar Cells Deposited with an Expanding Thermal Plasma

2003 ◽  
Vol 762 ◽  
Author(s):  
A.M.H.N. Petit ◽  
M. Zeman ◽  
R.A.C.M.M. van Swaaij ◽  
M.C.M. van de Sanden
Keyword(s):  
Solar Cell ◽  
Electric Field ◽  
Buffer Layer ◽  
Thermal Plasma ◽  
Defect Density ◽  
Chemical Vapor ◽  
Buffer Layers ◽  
High Deposition Rate ◽  
Solar Cell Performance ◽  
Plasma Chemical Vapor Deposition

AbstractWith an Expanding Thermal Plasma Chemical Vapor Deposition system (ETP-CVD), solar grade amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) can be deposited at high deposition rate (> 2 nm/s). We think that during the first stage of deposition, a material is grown with a higher defect density than the rest of the bulk creating a defect-rich layer (DRL). Therefore we analyzed, by the means of simulations, the influence of the position of the DRL on the performance of a p-i-n a-Si:H solar cell when moved from the p-i towards the i-n interface and as a function of its thickness. We investigate the effect of a buffer layer in between the p- and the i-layer on the external parameters of the solar cell. The presence of a buffer layer increases the electric field near the p-i interface, which leads to a higher collection of free charge carriers at the interface, although the electric field is then diminished deeper in the bulk. It appears that 10 nm thick buffer layer is sufficient to improve the performance. In case no buffer layer is applied, recombination losses at the p-i interface diminish the performance of the solar cell. We also observe that an increase of the DRL thickness results in a reduction of the solar-cell performance, which is more pronounced when the DRL is located in the region close to the p-i interface rather than close to the i-n interface.

scholarly journals Passivation of InP solar cells using large area hexagonal-BN layers

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Vidur Raj ◽  
Dipankar Chugh ◽  
Lachlan E. Black ◽  
M. M. Shehata ◽  
Li Li ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Solar Cells ◽  
Solar Cell ◽  
Surface Passivation ◽  
Defect Density ◽  
Hexagonal Boron Nitride ◽  
Cell Structure ◽  
Chemical Vapor ◽  
Large Area ◽  
Solar Cell Performance ◽  
Passivation Layers

AbstractSurface passivation is crucial for many high-performance solid-state devices, especially solar cells. It has been proposed that 2D hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) films can provide near-ideal passivation due to their wide bandgap, lack of dangling bonds, high dielectric constant, and easy transferability to a range of substrates without disturbing their bulk properties. However, so far, the passivation of hBN has been studied for small areas, mainly because of its small sizes. Here, we report the passivation characteristics of wafer-scale, few monolayers thick, hBN grown by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition. Using a recently reported ITO/i-InP/p+-InP solar cell structure, we show a significant improvement in solar cell performance utilizing a few monolayers of hBN as the passivation layer. Interface defect density (at the hBN/i-InP) calculated using C–V measurement was 2 × 1012 eV−1cm−2 and was found comparable to several previously reported passivation layers. Thus, hBN may, in the future, be a possible candidate to achieve high-quality passivation. hBN-based passivation layers can mainly be useful in cases where the growth of lattice-matched passivation layers is complicated, as in the case of thin-film vapor–liquid–solid and close-spaced vapor transport-based III–V semiconductor growth techniques.

EVALUATION OF MICROCRYSTALLINE SILICON FILMS DEPOSITED BY ULTRAFAST THERMAL PLASMA CVD

2001 ◽  
Vol 664 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yongkee Chae ◽  
Hiromasa Ohno ◽  
Keisuke Eguchi ◽  
Toyonobu Yoshida
Keyword(s):  
Chemical Vapor Deposition ◽  
Thermal Plasma ◽  
Vapor Deposition ◽  
Defect Density ◽  
Chemical Vapor ◽  
Deposition Process ◽  
Plasma Chemical Vapor Deposition ◽  
Long Time ◽  
Roll System ◽  
Si Films

ABSTRACTThis research is the first attempt at applying thermal plasma chemical vapor deposition (TPCVD) for the ultrafast deposition of Si films for solar cells. A conventional deposition process of Si films, such as plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD), is capable of a maximum deposition rate of approximately 5 Å/s and it takes a relatively long time to deposit an intrinsic layer. In this paper we report a novel ultrafast deposition approach using dc-rf hybrid TPCVD. The extreme improvement of stability, controllability, and cleanliness of the process enabled the deposition of microcrystalline Si films at the ultrafast rate of over 1000 nm/s, which is about 2000 times faster than that by conventional CVD. Moreover, a minimum defect density of 7.2×1016 cm−3was achieved by post-treatment of the film in 2 Torr H2/Ar plasma. Monte-Carlo simulation and step coverage analysis suggested that the precursor is an approximately 1 nm cluster with a sticking probability of about 0.6. The success of this research will lead to the development of commercially viable technology in a roll-to-roll system in the near future, and will fundamentally change the established concepts of Si deposition technology.

Overgrowth of Single Crystal Diamond Using Defect-Selective Etching and Epitaxy Technique in Chemical Vapor Deposition

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (8) ◽  
pp. 4412-4417
Author(s):  
Jonggeon Lee ◽  
Taemyung Kwak ◽  
Geunho Yoo ◽  
Seongwoo Kim ◽  
Okhyun Nam
Keyword(s):  
Chemical Vapor Deposition ◽  
Vapor Deposition ◽  
Microwave Plasma ◽  
Defect Density ◽  
Chemical Vapor ◽  
Atomic Force Microscope Image ◽  
Selective Etching ◽  
Diamond Surface ◽  
Plasma Chemical Vapor Deposition ◽  
Single Crystal Diamond

In this study, we demonstrated the defect-selective etching and epitaxy technique for defect reduction of a heteroepitaxial chemical vapor deposition (CVD) diamond substrate. First, an 8 nm layer of nickel was deposited on the diamond surface using an e-beam evaporator. Then, defect-selective etching was conducted through an in situ single process using microwave plasma chemical vapor deposition (MPCVD). After defect-selective etching, the diamond layer was overgrown by MPCVD. The defect density measured from the atomic force microscope image decreased from 3.27×108 to 2.02×108 cm−2. The first-order Raman peak of diamond shifted from 1340 to 1336 cm−1, and the full width at half maximum (FWHM) decreased from 9.66 to 7.66 cm−1. Through the defect-selective etching and epitaxy technique, it was confirmed that the compressive stress was reduced and the crystal quality improved.

Effect of the chemical composition of co-sputtered Zn(O,S) buffer layers on Cu(In,Ga)Se2 solar cell performance

2014 ◽  
Vol 212 (2) ◽  
pp. 282-290 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Buffière ◽  
S. Harel ◽  
C. Guillot-Deudon ◽  
L. Arzel ◽  
N. Barreau ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Solar Cell ◽  
Chemical Composition ◽  
Cell Performance ◽  
Buffer Layers ◽  
Solar Cell Performance

Epitaxial GaN Layer Growth Using Nitrogen Enriched TiN Buffer Layers

2006 ◽  
Vol 916 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kazuhiro Ito ◽  
Yu Uchida ◽  
Sang-jin Lee ◽  
Susumu Tsukimoto ◽  
Yuhei Ikemoto ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Buffer Layer ◽  
Light Emission ◽  
Chemical Vapor ◽  
Nucleation Site ◽  
Layer Growth ◽  
Buffer Layers ◽  
Organic Chemical ◽  
Nitrogen Enrichment ◽  
Threading Dislocation ◽  
Sapphire Substrates

AbstractAbout 20 years ago, the discovery of an AlN buffer layer lead to the breakthrough in epitaxial growth of GaN layers with mirror-like surface, using a metal organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) technique on sapphire substrates. Since then, extensive efforts have been continued to develop a conductive buffer layer/substrate for MOCVD-grown GaN layers to improve light emission of GaN light-emitting diodes. In the present study, we produced MOCVD-grown, continuous, flat epitaxial GaN layers on nitrogen enriched TiN buffer layers with the upper limit of the nitrogen content of TiN deposited at room temperature (RT) on sapphire substrates. It was concluded that the nitrogen enrichment would reduce significantly the TiN/GaN interfacial energy. The RT deposition of the TiN buffer layers suppresses their grain growth during the nitrogen enrichment and the grain size refining must increase nucleation site of GaN. In addition, threading dislocation density in the GaN layers grown on TiN was much lower than that in the GaN layers grown on AlN.

Annealing Kinetics of Amorphous Silicon Alloy Solar Cells Made at Various Deposition Rates

2001 ◽  
Vol 664 ◽  
Author(s):  
Baojie Yana ◽  
Jeffrey Yanga ◽  
Kenneth Lord ◽  
Subhendu Guha
Keyword(s):  
Solar Cells ◽  
Solar Cell ◽  
Amorphous Silicon ◽  
High Frequency ◽  
Room Temperature ◽  
Defect Density ◽  
Very High Frequency ◽  
Solar Cell Performance ◽  
Kinetics Of ◽  
Very High

ABSTRACTA systematic study has been made of the annealing kinetics of amorphous silicon (a-Si) alloy solar cells. The cells were deposited at various rates using H2 dilution with radio frequency (RF) and modified very high frequency (MVHF) glow discharge. In order to minimize the effect of annealing during light soaking, the solar cells were degraded under 30 suns at room temperature to quickly reach their saturated states. The samples were then annealed at an elevated temperature. The J-V characteristics were recorded as a function of annealing time. The correlation of solar cell performance and defect density in the intrinsic layer was obtained by computer simulation. Finally, the annealing activation energy distribution (Ea) was deduced by fitting the experimental data to a theoretical model. The results show that the RF low rate solar cell with high H2 dilution has the lowest Ea and the narrowest distribution, while the RF cell with no H2 dilution has the highest Ea and the broadest distribution. The MVHF cell made at 8Å/s withhigh H2 dilution shows a lower Ea and a narrower distribution than the RF cell made at 3 Å/s, despite the higher rate. We conclude that different annealing kinetics plays an important role in determining the stabilized performance of a-Si alloy solar cells.

Hydrogenated Amorphous Silicon Germanium Alloy for Stable Solar Cells

1994 ◽  
Vol 336 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Terakawa ◽  
M. Shima ◽  
K. Sayama ◽  
H. Tarui ◽  
H. Nishiwaki ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Solar Cell ◽  
Conversion Efficiency ◽  
Silicon Germanium ◽  
Defect Density ◽  
Characteristic Energy ◽  
Solar Cell Performance ◽  
Germanium Content ◽  
Junction Solar Cell ◽  
Degradation Ratio ◽  
Double Junction

ABSTRACTThe film properties and solar cell performance of a-SiGe:H samples with the same optical gap and different combinations of hydrogen content (CH) and germanium content (CGe) have been compared. The optimum composition for the initial properties, such as the tail characteristic energy, defect density and conversion efficiency of the solar cell, was determined, and the differences could be explained by the difference in H bonding configuration. The degradation ratio of the conversion efficiency becomes larger in higher CH samples. This suggests that hydrogen or Si-H2 participates in light-induced degradation. As a result, the optimum CH for an efficient solar cell is believed to shift to the lower CH region after light soaking. Based on these findings, the stabilized conversion efficiency of 3.3% under red light (γ>650nm) for an a-SiGe:H single-junction solar cell (1cm2) and 10.6% under lsun light for an a-Si/a-SiGe double-junction stacked solar cell (1cm2) have been achieved. The degradation ratio is only 8.6% for the double-junction solar cell.

scholarly journals Numerical Design of Ultrathin Hydrogenated Amorphous Silicon-Based Solar Cell

2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 ◽  
pp. 1-13
Author(s):  
F. X. Abomo Abega ◽  
A. Teyou Ngoupo ◽  
J. M. B. Ndjaka
Keyword(s):  
Solar Cells ◽  
Solar Cell ◽  
Amorphous Silicon ◽  
Buffer Layer ◽  
Defect Density ◽  
Hydrogenated Amorphous Silicon ◽  
Theoretical Work ◽  
Silicon Based ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Hydrogenated Amorphous

Numerical modelling is used to confirm experimental and theoretical work. The aim of this work is to present how to simulate ultrathin hydrogenated amorphous silicon- (a-Si:H-) based solar cells with a ITO BRL in their architectures. The results obtained in this study come from SCAPS-1D software. In the first step, the comparison between the J-V characteristics of simulation and experiment of the ultrathin a-Si:H-based solar cell is in agreement. Secondly, to explore the impact of certain properties of the solar cell, investigations focus on the study of the influence of the intrinsic layer and the buffer layer/absorber interface on the electrical parameters ( J SC , V OC , FF, and η ). The increase of the intrinsic layer thickness improves performance, while the bulk defect density of the intrinsic layer and the surface defect density of the buffer layer/ i -(a-Si:H) interface, respectively, in the ranges [109 cm-3, 1015 cm-3] and [1010 cm-2, 5 × 10 13  cm-2], do not affect the performance of the ultrathin a-Si:H-based solar cell. Analysis also shows that with approximately 1 μm thickness of the intrinsic layer, the optimum conversion efficiency is 12.71% ( J SC = 18.95   mA · c m − 2 , V OC = 0.973   V , and FF = 68.95 % ). This work presents a contribution to improving the performance of a-Si-based solar cells.

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