Record low surface recombination velocities on low-resistivity silicon solar cell substrates

Schmidt, Jan; Lauinger, T.; Aberle, Armin G.; Hezel, Rudolf

doi:10.1109/pvsc.1996.564031

Cited by 25 publications

(21 citation statements)

References 13 publications

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“…5,33,7 PECVD silicon nitride films can be very effective for surface passivation, with record low values of surface recombination velocity of 4 cm/s being reported. 34 Alas, the best passivating nitride films are those with a high silicon content, closer to the SiN x #5 film, which we have discovered is too absorbing to be an effective AR coating. There are some reports of good passivation with silicon-poor SiN x films, 35 but the authors concede that the film suffers from a poor thermal stability and that the conditions required to grow the film are difficult to optimize.…”

Section: Surface Passivation Considerationsmentioning

confidence: 83%

Sunrise to sunset optimization of thin film antireflective coatings for encapsulated, planar silicon solar cells

Boden

Bagnall

2009

Progress in Photovoltaics

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We present an approach for the optimization of thin film antireflective coatings for encapsulated planar silicon solar cells in which the variations in the incident spectra and angle of incidence (AOI) over a typical day are fully considered. Both the angular and wavelength dependences of the reflectance from the surface, absorptance within the coating, and transmittance into the device are calculated for both single-and doublelayer antireflection coatings with and without thin silicon oxide passivation layers. These data are then combined with spectral data as a function of time of day and internal quantum efficiency to estimate the average short-circuit current produced by a fixed solar cell during a day. This is then used as a figure of merit for the optimization of antireflective layer thicknesses for modules placed horizontally at the equator and on a roof in the UK. Our results indicate that only modest gains in average short-circuit current could be obtained by optimizing structures for sunrise to sunset irradiance rather than AM1Á5 at normal incidence, and fabrication tolerances and uniformities are likely to be more significant. However, we believe that this overall approach to optimization will be of increasing significance for new, potentially asymmetric, antireflection schemes such as those based on subwavelength texturing or other photonic or plasmonic technologies currently under development especially when considered in combination with modules fixed at locations and directions that result in asymmetric spectral conditions.

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Section: Surface Passivation Considerationsmentioning

confidence: 83%

Sunrise to sunset optimization of thin film antireflective coatings for encapsulated, planar silicon solar cells

Boden

Bagnall

2009

Progress in Photovoltaics

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“…• to 400 • C. Excellent surface recombination velocities of less than 10 cm/s have been reached [16]. An additional advantage of SiN x is the incorporation of hydrogen in this layer which could act as a bulk passivation source for multicrystalline silicon.…”

Section: Deposition Temperaturementioning

confidence: 97%

High-Efficiency Crystalline Silicon Solar Cells

Glunz

2007

Advances in OptoElectronics

117

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The current cost distribution of a crystalline silicon PV module is clearly dominated by material costs, especially by the costs of the silicon wafer. Therefore cell designs that allow the use of thinner wafers and the increase of energy conversion efficiency are of special interest to the PV industry. This article gives an overview of the most critical issues to achieve this aim and of the recent activities at Fraunhofer ISE and other institutes.

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“…A detailed discussion of this dependence can be found in Ref. 28. According to Figure 12, the situation changes signi®cantly if a local BSF is included below the Al grid lines for reduced metal contact recombination.…”

Section: Bifacial N P Cellsmentioning

confidence: 98%

“…These results were obtained from MW-PCD measurements using about half a sun of white bias light. 28 The electron diusion length of the starting material was about 2 mm. For the samples without a local BSF, the recombination losses occur predominantly at the metal contacts.…”

Section: Bifacial N P Cellsmentioning

confidence: 98%

Progress in Low-temperature Surface Passivation of Silicon Solar Cells using Remote-plasma Silicon Nitride

Aberle

Hezel

1997

Prog. Photovolt: Res. Appl.

150

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Using a remote‐plasma technique as opposed to the conventional direct‐plasma technique, significant progress has been obtained at ISFH in the area of low‐temperature surface passivation of p‐type crystalline silicon solar cells by means of silicon nitride (SiN) films fabricated at 350–400°C in a plasma‐enhanced chemical vapour deposition system. If applied to the rear surface of the low‐resistivity p‐type substrates, the remote‐plasma SiN films provide outstanding surface recombination velocities (SRVs) as low as 4 cm s−1, which is by a clear margin the lowest value ever obtained on a low‐resistivity p‐Si wafer passivated by a solid film, including highest quality thermal oxides. Compared to direct‐plasma SiN films or thermally grown oxides, the remote‐plasma films not only provide significantly better SRVs on low‐resistivity p‐silicon wafers, but also an enormously improved stability against ultraviolet (UV) light. The potential of these remote‐plasma silicon nitride films for silicon solar cell applications is further increased by the fact that they provide a surface passivation on phosphorus‐diffused emitters which is comparable to high‐quality thermal oxides. Furthermore, if combined with a thermal oxide and a caesium treatment, the films induce a UV‐stable inversion‐layer emitter of outstanding electronic quality. Due to the low deposition temperature and the high refraction index, these remote‐plasma SiN films act as highly efficient surface‐passivating antireflection coatings. Application of these films to cost‐effective silicon solar cell designs presently under development at ISFH turned out to be most successful, as demonstrated by diffused p‐n junction cells with efficiencies above 19%, by bifacial p‐n junction cells with front and rear efficiencies above 18%, by mask‐free evaporated p‐n junction cells with efficiencies above 18% and by MIS inversion‐layer cells with a new record efficiency of above 17%. All cells are found to be stable during a UV test corresponding to more than 4 years of glass‐encapsulated outdoor operation. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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Record low surface recombination velocities on low-resistivity silicon solar cell substrates

Cited by 25 publications

References 13 publications

Sunrise to sunset optimization of thin film antireflective coatings for encapsulated, planar silicon solar cells

Sunrise to sunset optimization of thin film antireflective coatings for encapsulated, planar silicon solar cells

High-Efficiency Crystalline Silicon Solar Cells

Progress in Low-temperature Surface Passivation of Silicon Solar Cells using Remote-plasma Silicon Nitride

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