Simulation of a Charged Al2O3 Film as an Assisting Passivation Layer for a-Si Passivated Contact P-Type Silicon Solar Cells

Abstract

In this paper, a charged Al 2 O 3 tunneling lm as an assisting for amorphous Si (a-Si) passivated contact layer is proposed and theoretically simulated for its potential application in improving a-Si passivated contact p-type (a-PC-p) solar cell. The concept is based on an Ag/n + c-Si/p c-Si/Al 2 O 3 /p + a-Si/Al structure.The key feature is the introduction of a charged Al 2 O 3 layer, which facilitates the tunneling of holes through an Al 2 O 3 insulator layer accompanied by the reduction of interface defect density (D it ). The negative charge in the Al 2 O 3 layer makes the energy band of p-type c-Si bend upward, realizing the accumulation of holes and repelling of electrons at the c-Si/a-Si interface simultaneously. The in uence of interface negative charges (Q it ) between a-Si and c-Si, Al 2 O 3 thickness, Al 2 O 3 bandgap, interface defect density (D it ) at the a-Si/c-Si interface are systematically investigated on the output parameters of a-PC-p cells. Inserting a charged Al 2 O 3 lm between the c-Si/a-Si interface, a +4.2 % relative e ciency gain is predicted theoretically compared with the a-PC-p cells without the Al 2 O 3 layer. Subsequently, the device performance under various temperatures is simulated, and the insertion of a charged Al 2 O 3 layer obviously decreases the P max temperature coe cient from -0.336 % /℃ to -0.247 % /℃, which is analogous to that of Heterojunction with Intrinsic Thin layer (HIT) solar cell. The above results demonstrate a better temperature response for a-PC-p cells with a charged Al 2 O 3 layer, paving a road for its potential application in high-e ciency and high thermal stability a-PC-p solar cells. Highlights A charged Al 2 O 3 assisting passivation layer is proposed for a-Si PC-p The Al 2 O 3 layer makes the selective carrier tunneling at the c-Si/a-Si interface. A +4.2 % relative e ciency gain is predicted theoretically by the Al 2 O 3The insertion of the Al 2 O 3 layer reduces the P max temperature coe cient greatly.

Passivating Contacts for Crystalline Silicon Solar Cells: An Overview of the Current Advances and Future Perspectives

“…This ensures the movement of charges away from the bulk toward the c-Si surface, significantly reducing carrier recombination losses and ensuring a high level of field-effect passivation. [25,26] Additionally, AlO x exhibits relatively good chemical passivation effects, effectively saturating the dangling bonds on the c-Si surface and reducing the density of interface defects (D it ).…”

Effect of Electron Transport Layers, Interface Defect Density and Working Temperature on Perovskite Solar Cells Using SCAPS 1-D Software

“…Numerical simulation was carried out using a software called The University of Gent created the Solar Cell Capacitance Simulator (SCAPS) [14] it was used to determine the influence of electron transport and perovskite active layers on solar cells parameters (Jsc, Voc, FF, and efficiency), various simulations were conducted to investigate the effects of ETLs with thicknesses ranging from 30 to 100 nm, the interface defect density (ETL/Perovskite absorber) varying from 10 14 to 10 19 , and the effect of temperature varying from 300 to 350K. The data used in the simulation and material parameters in SCAPS were implemented from theories and works of literature [20][21][22][23][24][25].…”

Design optimization and efficiency enhancement of axial junction nanowire solar cells utilizing a forward scattering mechanism

“…55,56 Al 2 O 3 and SiO 2 are two of the most investigated materials used for the passivation of these cells due to their superior properties and the technological feasibility of using them for passivation using several processes including chemical bath deposition, gas phase epitaxy and sputtering. 53,[55][56][57][58][59][60][61][62][63][64][65][66] For nanowire solar cells, the enhanced surface area that improves utilization of solar spectrum also presents the challenge of enhanced surface recombination resulting in deterioration of external quantum efficiency of the solar cell due to lost charge carriers at the surface. 67 Surface passivation is needed for the alleviation of surface recombination which can signicantly improve the carrier collection efficiency.…”