Cross-contamination in single-chamber processes for thin-film silicon solar cells

Woerdenweber, J.; Merdzhanova, Tsvetelina; Zimmermann, T.; Flikweert, A.J.; Stiebig, Helmut; Beyer, W.; Gordijn, A.

doi:10.1016/j.jnoncrysol.2011.12.041

Cited by 8 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 9 publications

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“…Details of this process can be found elsewhere. 26,27 Sputtered ZnO:Al and silver were used as back contact. I-V measurements were performed in a class A sun simulator under AM1.5.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Role of the dopant aluminum for the growth of sputtered ZnO:Al investigated by means of a seed layer concept

Sommer

Stanley

Köhler

et al. 2015

Journal of Applied Physics

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This work elucidates the effect of the dopant aluminum on the growth of magnetron-sputtered aluminum-doped zinc oxide (ZnO:Al) films by means of a seed layer concept. Thin (<100 nm), highly doped seed layers and subsequently grown thick (∼800 nm), lowly doped bulk films were deposited using a ZnO:Al2O3 target with 2 wt. % and 1 wt. % Al2O3, respectively. We investigated the effect of bulk and seed layer deposition temperature as well as seed layer thickness on electrical, optical, and structural properties of ZnO:Al films. A reduction of deposition temperature by 100 °C was achieved without deteriorating conductivity, transparency, and etching morphology which renders these low-temperature films applicable as light-scattering front contact for thin-film silicon solar cells. Lowly doped bulk layers on highly doped seed layers showed smaller grains and lower surface roughness than their counterpart without seed layer. We attributed this observation to the beneficial role of the dopant aluminum that induces an enhanced surface diffusion length via a surfactant effect. The enhanced surface diffusion length promotes 2D-growth of the highly doped seed layer, which is then adopted by the subsequently grown and lowly doped bulk layer. Furthermore, we explained the seed layer induced increase of tensile stress on the basis of the grain boundary relaxation model. The model relates the grain size reduction to the tensile stress increase within the ZnO:Al films. Finally, temperature-dependent conductivity measurements, optical fits, and etching characteristics revealed that seed layers reduced grain boundary scattering. Thus, seed layers induced optimized grain boundary morphology with the result of a higher charge carrier mobility and more suitable etching characteristics. It is particularly compelling that we observed smaller grains to correlate with an enhanced charge carrier mobility. A seed layer thickness of 5 nm was sufficient to induce the beneficial effects.

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“…Details of this process can be found elsewhere. 26,27 Sputtered ZnO:Al and silver were used as back contact. I-V measurements were performed in a class A sun simulator under AM1.5.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Role of the dopant aluminum for the growth of sputtered ZnO:Al investigated by means of a seed layer concept

Sommer

Stanley

Köhler

et al. 2015

Journal of Applied Physics

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“…Second, triple-junction cells based on a-Si-germanium alloys (a-Si:H/a-SiGe:H/a-SiGe:H) allow the bandgap of the individual cells to change. Third, the micromorph a-Si:H/µc-Si:H tandem cell uses a-Si on the top and µc-Si on the bottom [90]. that of other c-Si solar-cell production methods [72].…”

Section: Flexible Thin-film A-si:h/µc-si:h Solar Cellsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Silicon-Based Technologies for Flexible Photovoltaic (PV) Devices: From Basic Mechanism to Manufacturing Technologies

2021

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Over the past few decades, silicon-based solar cells have been used in the photovoltaic (PV) industry because of the abundance of silicon material and the mature fabrication process. However, as more electrical devices with wearable and portable functions are required, silicon-based PV solar cells have been developed to create solar cells that are flexible, lightweight, and thin. Unlike flexible PV systems (inorganic and organic), the drawbacks of silicon-based solar cells are that they are difficult to fabricate as flexible solar cells. However, new technologies have emerged for flexible solar cells with silicon. In this paper, we describe the basic energy-conversion mechanism from light and introduce various silicon-based manufacturing technologies for flexible solar cells. In addition, for high energy-conversion efficiency, we deal with various technologies (process, structure, and materials).

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Hydrogenated Microcrystalline Silicon Thin Films

Zhao

Zhang

Bai

et al. 2018

Handbook of Photovoltaic Silicon

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Cross-contamination in single-chamber processes for thin-film silicon solar cells

Cited by 8 publications

References 9 publications

Role of the dopant aluminum for the growth of sputtered ZnO:Al investigated by means of a seed layer concept

Role of the dopant aluminum for the growth of sputtered ZnO:Al investigated by means of a seed layer concept

Silicon-Based Technologies for Flexible Photovoltaic (PV) Devices: From Basic Mechanism to Manufacturing Technologies

Hydrogenated Microcrystalline Silicon Thin Films

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