Microcrystalline Silicon Solar Cell Deposited Using Modified Very-High-Frequency Glow Discharge and Its Application in Multi-junction Structures

2004 ◽  
Vol 808 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guozhen Yue ◽  
Baojie Yan ◽  
Jessica M. Owens ◽  
Jeffrey Yang ◽  
Subhendu Guha
Keyword(s):  
Solar Cells ◽  
Glow Discharge ◽  
Triple Junction ◽  
High Frequency ◽  
Active Area ◽  
Microcrystalline Silicon ◽  
Very High Frequency ◽  
Bottom Cell ◽  
Junction Structure ◽  
Very High

ABSTRACTWe have used the modified very-high-frequency glow discharge technique to deposit hydrogenated microcrystalline silicon (m c-Si:H) solar cells at high rates for use as the bottom cell in a multi-junction structure. We have investigated c-Si:H single-junction, a-Si:H/ c-Si:H double-junction, and a-Si:H/a-SiGe:H/m c-Si:H triple-junction solar cells and achieved initial active area efficiencies of 7.7%, 12.5%, and 12.4%, respectively. Issues related to improving material properties and device structures are addressed. By taking advantage of a lower degradation in m c-Si:H than a-Si:H and a-SiGe:H alloys, we have minimized the light induced effect in multi-junction structures by designing a bottom-cell-limited current mismatching. As a result, we have obtained a stable active-area cell efficiency of 11.2% with an a-Si:H/a-SiGe:H/μ c-Si:H triple-junction structure.

High Rate Deposition of Amorphous Silicon Based Solar Cells using Modified Very High Frequency Glow Discharge

2007 ◽  
Vol 989 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guozhen Yue ◽  
Baojie Yan ◽  
Jeffrey Yang ◽  
Subhendu Guha
Keyword(s):  
Solar Cells ◽  
Glow Discharge ◽  
Amorphous Silicon ◽  
High Frequency ◽  
Cell Performance ◽  
High Rate ◽  
Active Area ◽  
Very High Frequency ◽  
Single Junction ◽  
Very High

AbstractWe report our recent progress on high rate deposition of hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) and silicon germanium (a-SiGe:H) based n-i-p solar cells. The intrinsic a-Si:H and a-SiGe:H layers were deposited using modified very high frequency (MVHF) glow discharge. We found that both the initial cell performance and stability of the MVHF a-Si:H single-junction cells are independent of the deposition rate up to 15 Å/s. The average initial and stable active-area cell efficiencies of 10.0% and 8.5%, respectively, were obtained for the cells on textured Ag/ZnO coated stainless steel substrates. a-SiGe:H single-junction cells were also optimized at a rate of ~10 Å/s. The cell performance is similar to those made using conventional radio frequency technique at 3 Å/s. By combining the optimized component cells made at 10 Å/s, an a-Si:H/a-SiGe:H double-junction solar cell with an initial active-area efficiency of 11.7% was achieved.

Hydrogenated Microcrystalline Silicon Single-Junction and Multi-Junction Solar Cells

2003 ◽  
Vol 762 ◽  
Author(s):  
Baojie Yan ◽  
Guozhen Yue ◽  
Jeffrey Yang ◽  
Arindam Banerjee ◽  
Subhendu Guha
Keyword(s):  
Solar Cells ◽  
Solar Cell ◽  
Glow Discharge ◽  
Silicon Germanium ◽  
Active Area ◽  
Microcrystalline Silicon ◽  
Very High Frequency ◽  
Hydrogenated Silicon ◽  
Area Efficiency ◽  
Bottom Cell

AbstractThis paper summarizes our recent studies of hydrogenated microcrystalline silicon (μc-Si:H) solar cells as a potential substitute for hydrogenated silicon germanium alloy (a-SiGe:H) bottom cells in multi-junction structures. Conventional radio frequency (RF) glow discharge is used to deposit hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) and μc-Si:H at low rates (∼ 1 Å/s), searching for the highest efficiency. We have achieved an initial active-area efficiency of 13.0% and stable efficiency of 11.2% using an a-Si:H/μc-Si:H double-junction structure. Modified very high frequency (MVHF) glow discharge is used to deposit a-Si:H and μc-Si:H at high rates (∼ 3-10 Å/s) for comparison with our a-Si:H/a-SiGe:H/a-SiGe:H triple-junction production technology. The deposition time for the μc-Si:H intrinsic (i) layer in the bottom cell should be less than 30 minutes in order to be acceptable for mass production. To date, an initial active-area efficiency of 12.3% has been achieved with the bottom cell deposited in 50 minutes. By increasing the deposition rate and reducing the bottom cell thickness, we have achieved an initial active-area efficiency of 11.4% with the bottom cellilayer deposited in 30 minutes. The cell stabilized to 10.4% after prolonged light soaking. We will address issues related to μc-Si:H material, solar cell design, solar cell analysis, and stability.

Status of nc-Si:H Solar Cells at United Solar and Roadmap for Manufacturing a-Si:H and nc-Si:H Based Solar Panels

2007 ◽  
Vol 989 ◽  
Author(s):  
Baojie Yan ◽  
Guozhen Yue ◽  
Subhendu Guha
Keyword(s):  
Solar Cells ◽  
Triple Junction ◽  
Cell Structure ◽  
Nanocrystalline Silicon ◽  
Active Area ◽  
Solar Panels ◽  
Very High Frequency ◽  
Cell Efficiency ◽  
Critical Issues ◽  
Junction Structure

AbstractThis paper reviews the research and development of hydrogenated nanocrystalline silicon (nc-Si:H) solar cells at United Solar Ovonic LLC. We have been studying nc-Si:H solar cells since 2001 and have made significant progress. We have achieved an initial active-area cell efficiency of 15.1% using an a-Si:H/a-SiGe:H/nc-Si:H triple-junction structure, a stable active-area cell efficiency of 13.3% using an a-Si:H/nc-Si:H/nc-Si:H triple-junction structure, and a stable aperture-area (420 cm2) fully encapsulated module efficiency of 9.5% using an a-Si:H/nc-Si:H double-junction structure. Although the cell efficiencies with nc-Si:H in the middle and/or bottom cells have exceeded the corresponding efficiencies achieved using a-Si:H and a-SiGe:H, we still need to address several critical issues before using nc-Si:H in photovoltaic manufacturing plants. First, the cell efficiency needs to be improved further to show a clear advantage over the conventional a-Si:H/a-SiGe:H/a-SiGe:H triple-junction cell structure. Second, we need to increase the deposition rate further to make the nc-Si:H based technology more cost effective. Third, we need to develop a machine design to overcome the large-area uniformity issue, especially for very high frequency glow discharge deposition. Fourth, we need to qualify nc-Si:H based solar cell product, especially with respect to long term reliability. We have been addressing these critical issues, and will discuss the roadmap for manufacturing a-Si:H and nc-Si:H based solar panels using the roll-to-roll technology.

scholarly journals Evolution of the microstructure in microcrystalline silicon prepared by very high frequency glow-discharge using hydrogen dilution

2000 ◽  
Vol 87 (6) ◽  
pp. 3137-3142 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. Vallat-Sauvain ◽  
U. Kroll ◽  
J. Meier ◽  
A. Shah ◽  
J. Pohl
Keyword(s):  
Glow Discharge ◽  
High Frequency ◽  
Microcrystalline Silicon ◽  
Very High Frequency ◽  
Hydrogen Dilution ◽  
Very High
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