Origin of the Voc enhancement with a p-doped nc-SiOx:H window layer in n-i-p solar cells

Biron, Rémi; Pahud, Céline; Haug, Franz‐Josef; Ballif, Christophe

doi:10.1016/j.jnoncrysol.2012.01.058

Cited by 42 publications

(24 citation statements)

References 28 publications

(40 reference statements)

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“…Biron et al studied the p-SiO x as window layer for high V oc n-i-p a-Si:H solar cells and increased the V oc up to 940 mV [14]. However, the increased V oc is commonly accompanied with relatively low FF, which is also observed in other studies [14,15,[30][31][32]. Therefore, developing p-type window layer with high transparency and good conduction is crucial to simultaneously achieve high V oc , high FF and high blue spectral response in a-Si:H solar cells.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 87%

“…The V oc improvement with p-SiO x as p-layer can be explained by the increase of the build-in voltage, which is associated with the work function of p-layer and the conduction band offset (CBO) at the p/i interface [15,41]. Since the majority of the p-layer is the p-doped a-SiO x matrix, its work function and CBO with i-layer determine the V bi .…”

Section: Performance Improvement With P-sio X Window Layer In High V mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This material presents even higher bandgap and lower absorption loss than p-SiC, which makes p-SiO x an promising material for the window layer [14,15]. Doped nanocrystalline silicon oxide is a key material as functional layers in TF-Si solar cells and modules because of its low absorption and low refractive index after incorporation of oxygen.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The p-doped silicon oxide (p-SiO x ) with relatively high crystalline fraction is also widely used as p-layer for nc-Si:H solar cells, leading to reduced optical loss and improved electrical performance compared to p-nc-Si:H [25][26][27][28][29]. However, the use of p-SiO x as window layer has been seldom investigated in a-Si:H solar cells [14,15,[30][31][32]. Biron et al studied the p-SiO x as window layer for high V oc n-i-p a-Si:H solar cells and increased the V oc up to 940 mV [14].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 87%

Section: Performance Improvement With P-sio X Window Layer In High V mentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Wide bandgap p-type nanocrystalline silicon oxide as window layer for high performance thin-film silicon multi-junction solar cells

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Zeman

et al. 2015

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“…The adoption of this wide bandgap p-doping layer could lead to higher values of V oc for μc-Si:H thin-film solar cells, as well as higher J sc values resulting from the reduced absorption loss in the short-wavelength region. Recently, Biron et al [25] has reported two scenarios explaining the V oc enhancement brought by the μc-SiO x :H window layers in a-Si:H n-i-p solar cells. Unfortunately, in case of our μc-Si:H p-i-n solar cells, the origin for the enhanced V oc in the μc-SiO x :H window layer has not been distinguished exactly between the increased built-in voltage (V bi ) and the reduced recombination at p/i interface.…”

Section: A High-performance μC-si:h Bottom Cell With a Wide-bandgap Pmentioning

confidence: 99%

Remarkable progress in thin-film silicon solar cells using high-efficiency triple-junction technology

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Lee³

et al. 2013

Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells

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Tiling of Solar Cell Surfaces: Influence on Photon Management and Microstructure

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Sai

Jovanov

et al. 2017

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optical losses. [8][9][10][11][12][13][14] Hence, both the quantum efficiency (QE) and short-circuit current density of the solar cells can potentially be enhanced when properly implemented. Several experimental and simulation approaches have been carried out to derive the optimal textured interfaces. [4,7,9,15] However, realization and modeling of the optimal textured interfaces are complex because several factors have to be considered. [4,7,9,15] In order to realize the solar cells with high energy conversion efficiency, it is necessary to maximize the product of short-circuit current density, open-circuit voltage, and fill factor. Texturing the interfaces affects not only the short-circuit current density. The open-circuit voltage and fill factor are affected too by changing the surface texture of microcrystalline silicon thinfilm solar cells. [2,7,[16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26] Microcrystalline silicon films grown on textured surfaces exhibit a high concentration of microstructure-induced recombination centers, while the silicon films prepared on smooth surfaces do not exhibit such microstructure-induced recombination centers. [16,18,[23][24][25][26] A high concentration of recombination centers is observed in regions with reduced structural order, often called "cracks" or "voids." The concentration of cracks increases with increasing roughness of the substrate. [14,16,18,[23][24][25][26] As a result, the crack formation affects the charge collection efficiency of the solar cells. Furthermore, the open-circuit voltage and fill factor are affected. [7,16,18,[22][23][24][25][26] Hence, these electrical properties of the microcrystalline silicon solar cell have to be considered when optimizing its light-trapping properties.The microcrystalline silicon (µc-Si:H) solar cells fabricated on hexagonal textured substrates exhibit the highest short-circuit current density of up to 32.9 mA cm −2 , and energy conversion efficiency up to 11.8%. [3,6] The highest short-circuit current density of 32.9 mA cm −2 is obtained for a 4 µm thick solar cell on a hexagonal textured substrate with period of 4 µm, while the highest energy conversion efficiency is obtained for a solar cell with a thickness of 1.7 µm on a hexagonal textured substrate with a period of 2.0 µm. [3,6] However, it remains unclear if hexagonal textured substrates represent the best possible substrate. Hence, in this study, the influence of different textured substrates on the QE, short-circuit current density, and formation of cracks is studied.In the following, the µc-Si:H solar cells with different substrate textures are compared in respect of the optical properties Microcrystalline silicon thin-film solar cells prepared on hexagonal tiled surfaces exhibit record short-circuit current densities and energy conversion efficiencies. However, it remains unclear if hexagonal textured substrates represent the best possible substrate tiling. In this study, hexagonal tiled substrates are compared with square and triangular tiled substrates in terms of...

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Origin of the Voc enhancement with a p-doped nc-SiOx:H window layer in n-i-p solar cells

Cited by 42 publications

References 28 publications

Wide bandgap p-type nanocrystalline silicon oxide as window layer for high performance thin-film silicon multi-junction solar cells

Wide bandgap p-type nanocrystalline silicon oxide as window layer for high performance thin-film silicon multi-junction solar cells

Remarkable progress in thin-film silicon solar cells using high-efficiency triple-junction technology

Tiling of Solar Cell Surfaces: Influence on Photon Management and Microstructure

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