Conductive Atomic Force Microscopy Measurements of Localized over Dark Current along Pyramidal Ridge Lines of Intrinsic Hydrogenated Amorphous Silicon Layer on Textured Crystalline

Abstract

Localized over dark current of a hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) layer deposited on p-type crystalline silicon with a pyramidal texture was measured by conductive atomic force microscope. The current followed the ridge lines of the pyramidal a-Si:H texture, and a large over dark current corresponded to a low open circuit voltage (V oc ). The current path has two possible phenomena: variable lm thickness, local crystallization, and a-Si:H degradation. By modifying the textural structure, the current path of the a-Si:H layer deposited on crystalline silicon with a pyramidal texture can be reduced; thereby the possibility of preserving the V oc of hetero-junction with intrinsic thin layer solar cells could be suggested.