Microstructure evolution and passivation quality of hydrogenated amorphous silicon oxide(a-SiOx:H) on〈100〉- and 〈111〉-orientated c-Si wafers

Hydrogenated amorphous silicon oxide(a-SiOx:H) is an attractive passivation material to suppress epitaxial growth and reduce the parasitic absorption loss in silicon heterojunction(SHJ) solar cells. In this paper, a-SiOx:H layers on different orientated c-Si substrates are fabricated. An optimal effective lifetime(τ(eff)) of 4743 μs and corresponding implied opencircuit voltage(iV(oc)) of 724 mV are obtained on〈100〉-orientated c-Si wafers. While τ(eff) of 2429 μs and iV_oc of 699 mV are achieved on 111-orientated substrate. The FTIR and XPS results indicate that the a-SiOx:H network consists of SiOx(Si-rich), Si–OH, Si–O–SiHx, SiO2 ≡ Si–Si, and O3 ≡ Si–Si. A passivation evolution mechanism is proposed to explain the different passivation results on different c-Si wafers. By modulating the a-SiOx:H layer, the planar silicon heterojunction solar cell can achieve an efficiency of 18.15%.     

Effects of deposition pressure and plasma power on the growth and properties of boron-doped microcrystalline silicon films

Using diborane as doping gas, p-doped μc-Si：H layers are deposited by using the plasma enhanced chemical vapour deposition （PECVD） technology. The effects of deposition pressure and plasma power on the growth and the properties of μc-Si：H layers are investigated. The results show that the deposition rate, the electrical and the structural properties are all strongly dependent on deposition pressure and plasma power. Boron-doped μc-Si：H films with a dark conductivity as high as 1.42 Ω^-1·cm^-1 and a crystallinity of above 50% are obtained. With this p-layer, μc-Si：H solar cells are fabricated. In addition, the mechanism for the effects of deposition pressure and plasma power on the growth and the properties of boron-doped μc-Si：H layers is discussed.     

Influence of p-layer on the performance of n-i-p μc-Si:H thin film solar cells

The high pressure radio frequency plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (RF-PECVD) process was adopted to prepare the n-i-p microcrystalline silicon solar cells,the influence of p-type layers on the performance of the solar cells was investigated,and the optimum p layer suited to the n-i-p microcrystalline silicon solar cells was obtained.The experimental results demonstrate that the performance of the solar cells can be highly affected by the structural and optical properties of the p-layers,and the performance of solar cells can be greatly improved by optimizing p layers.We have achieved an initial active-area efficiency of 8.17% (V oc =0.49 V,J sc =24.9 mA/cm 2 ,FF=67%) for the μc-Si:H single-junction n-i-p solar cells and an initial active-area efficiency of 10.93% (V oc =1.31 V,J sc =13.09 mA/cm 2 ,FF=64%) for the a-Si:H/μc-Si:H tandem n-i-p solar cells.     

Significant Improvement of Passivation Performance by Two-Step Preparation of Amorphous Silicon Passivation Layers in Silicon Heterojunction Solar Cells

The key feature of amorphous/crystalline silicon heterojunction solar cells is extremely low surface recombination,which is related to superior passivation on the crystalline silicon wafer surface using thin hydrogenated amorphous silicon(a-Si:H)layers,leading to a high open-circuit voltage.In this work,a two-step method of a-Si:H passivation is introduced,showing excellent interface passivation quality,and the highest effective minority carrier lifetime exceeds 4500 μs.By applying a buffer layer deposited through pure silane plasma,the risk of film epitaxial growth and plasma damage caused by hydrogen diluted silane plasma is effectively reduced.Based on this,excellent passivation is realized through the following hydrogen diluted silane plasma process with the application of high density hydrogen.In this process,hydrogen diffuses to a-Si/c-Si interface,saturating residual dangling bonds which are not passivated by the buffer layer.Employing this two-step method,a heterojunction solar cell with an area of 239 cm~2 is prepared,yielding to open-circuit voltage up to 735 mV and total-area efficiency up to 22.4%.     

The study of a new n/p tunnel recombination junction and its application in a-Si：H/μc-Si：H tandem solar cells

This paper reports that a double N layer (a-Si:H/μc-Si:H) is used to substitute the single microcrystalline silicon n layer (n-μc-Si:H) in n/p tunnel recombination junction between subcells in a-Si:H/μc-Si:H tandem solar cells. The electrical transport and optical properties of these tunnel recombination junctions are investigated by current-voltage measurement and transmission measurement. The new n/p tunnel recombination junction shows a better ohmic contact. In addition, the n/p interface is exposed to the air to examine the effect of oxidation on the tunnel recombination junction performance. The open circuit voltage and FF of a-Si:H/μc-Si:H tandem solar cell are all improved and the current leakage of the subcells can be effectively prevented efficiently when the new n/p junction is implemented as tunnel recombination junction.     

Effect of emitter layer doping concentration on the performance of a silicon thin film heterojunction solar cell

A novel type of n/i/i/p heterojunction solar cell with a-Si:H(15nm)/a-Si:H(10nm)/ epitaxial c-Si(47μm)/epitaxial c-Si(3μm) structure is fabricated by using the layer transfer technique, and the emitter layer is deposited by hot wire chemical vapour deposition. The effect of the doping concentration of the emitter layer S d (Sd =PH3 /(PH3 +SiH4 +H2 )) on the performance of the solar cell is studied by means of current density-voltage and external quantum efficiency. The results show that the conversion efficiency of the solar cell first increases to a maximum value and then decreases with S d increasing from 0.1% to 0.4%. The best performance of the solar cell is obtained at S d = 0.2% with an open circuit voltage of 534 mV, a short circuit current density of 23.35mA/cm2 , a fill factor of 63.3%, and a conversion efficiency of 7.9%.     

Reduction of the phosphorus contamination for plasma deposition of p-i-n microcrystalline silicon solar cells in a single chamber

This paper investigates several pretreatment techniques used to reduce the phosphorus contamination between solar cells. They include hydrogen plasma pretreatment, deposition of a p-type doped layer, i-a-Si:H or μc-Si:H covering layer between solar cells. Their effectiveness for the pretreatment is evaluated by means of phosphorus concentration in films, the dark conductivity of p-layer properties and cell performance.     

Micromorph tandem solar cells: optimization of the microcrystalline silicon bottom cell in a single chamber system

We report on the development of single chamber deposition of microcrystalline and micromorph tandem solar cells directly onto low-cost glass substrates. The cells have pin single-junction or pin/pin double-junction structures on glass substrates coated with a transparent conductive oxide layer such as SnO₂ or ZnO. By controlling boron and phosphorus contaminations, a single-junction microcrystalline silicon cell with a conversion efficiency of 7.47% is achieved with an i-layer thickness of 1.2 μm. In tandem devices, by thickness optimization of the microcrystalline silicon bottom solar cell, we obtained an initial conversion efficiency of 9.91% with an aluminum (Al) back reflector without a dielectric layer. In order to enhance the performance of the tandem solar cells, an improved light trapping structure with a ZnO/Al back reflector is used. As a result, a tandem solar cell with 11.04% of initial conversion efficiency has been obtained.     

Absorption enhancement of ultrathin crystalline silicon solar cells with frequency upconversion nanosphere arrays

A design of ultrathin crystalline silicon solar cells patterned with α-NaEr_(0.2)Y_(0.8)F_4 upconversion nanosphere(NSs) arrays on the surface was proposed. The light trapping performance ofα-NaEr_(0.2)Y_(0.8)F_4 NSs with different ratios of sphere diameter to sphere pitch was systematically studied by COMSOL Multiphysics. The influence of different NS diameters and ratio to the average optical absorption of ultrathin crystalline silicon solar cell was calculated, as well as the short circuit current densities. The results show that the average optical absorption of solar cells with 2.33 μm silicon covered by α-NaEr_(0.2)Y_(0.8)F_4 NSs of 100 nm in diameter and 5.2 in ratio has improved by 8.5% compared to planar silicon solar cells with the same thickness of silicon. The light trapping performance of different thicknesses of silicon solar cells with the optimized configuration of NSs was also discussed. The results indicate that our structure enhances the light absorption. The presented model will be the basis for further simulations concerning frequency upconversion of α-NaEr_(0.2)Y_(0.8)F_4 materials.     

The influence of SiNx substrate on crystallinity of μc-Si film used in thin film transistors

This paper found that the crystalline volume ratio （Xc） of μc-Si deposited on SiNx substrate is higher than that on 7059 glass. At the same silane concentration （SC） （for example, at SC=2%）, the Xc of μc-Si deposited on SiNx is more than 64%, but just 44% if deposited on Conning 7059. It considered that the ‘hills＇ on SiNx substrate would promote the crystalline growth of μc-Si thin film, which has been confirmed by atomic force microscope （AFM） observation. Comparing several thin film transistor （TFT） samples whose active-layer were deposited under various SC, this paper found that the appropriate SC for the μc-Si thin film used in TFT as active layer should be more than 2%, and Xc should be around 50%. Additionally, the stability comparison of μc-Si TFT and a-Si TFT is shown in this paper.     

On a presence of SimHn clusters in a-Si:H/c-Si structures

Dominant aim of the paper was to verify the existence of the Si_mH_n clusters in a-Si:H layers. Thin layers were deposited by plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) on both glass and crystalline silicon substrates. Their IR and structural properties were investigated by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and X-ray diffraction at grazing incidence angle (XRDGI). We have found that the layer probably consists of larger structurally ordered parts corresponding to Si_mH_n clusters and separated groups of (Si-H_x)_N. The ordered parts could be identified as some of Si_mH_n clusters ranging from (10, 16) to (84, 64) represented by corresponding vibration frequencies in three following IR regions: 600-750, 830-900 and 2080-2180 cm⁻¹. XRDGI measurement indicates that diffraction maximum at around 2Θ = 28° can be attributed to an existing Si_mH_n cluster.     

Influence of the broken symmetry of defect state distribution at the a-Si:H/c-Si interface on the performance of hetero-junction solar cells

Taking into account the fact that the distribution of defect states at the interface does not have strictly symmetrical shape, we present a simulation study of a-Si:H(n)/c-Si(p) and a-Si:H(p)/c-Si(n) structures with regard to the defect states at the interface, band offsets and doping concentration of the emitter. The presented results suggest for a-Si:H(n)/c-Si(p) solar cells a strong influence of the introduced broken symmetry between acceptor and donor defect states on the open-circuit voltage, whereas the a-Si:H(p)/c-Si(n) structure benefits from inherent favorable band alignment and remains unaffected.     

Hybrid system of iron porphyrin on aminosilanized c-Si

Adsorption of iron porphyrin (Fe^IIITPPS₄) Fe(III)meso-tetra(4-sulfonatophenyl) porphine on aminosilanized surface of crystalline Si (c-Si) was investigated. Formation of nanometric structures of Fe^IIITPPS₄ on c-Si, the surface of which has been modified by various silanization procedures, was studied. Aqueous, ethanol and acetone solutions of 3-aminopropyltrietoxysilane (APTES) were prepared for deposition on c-Si by spinning or immersion techniques. Smooth homogeneous APTES films of thickness 100–500 nm were produced by multiple spin coating procedure. Thin APTES films of thickness 2.5 nm were fabricated by dipping technique followed by washing procedure. Hybrid system of Fe^IIITPPS₄/APTES/Si was prepared from a drop of Fe^IIITPPS₄ aqueous solution put on aminosilanized Si surface or by dipping the Si wafer in Fe^IIITPPS₄ aqueous solution. Nanostructures of size 50–250 nm were formed along with large rings of Ø50–100 μm which have been observed at chemisorption of highly concentrated (1 mM) Fe^IIITPPS₄ aqueous solution. Spectroscopic ellipsometry was used to characterize the APTES layer and to investigate the aggregation state of Fe^IIITPPS₄. The studies provided allowed one to presume that covalent bonds were formed between amino-groups of APTES and functional groups of sulfonic acid in porphyrin leading to immobilization of Fe^IIITPPS₄ on Si substrate.     

PECVD硼掺杂微晶硅薄膜的压阻特性

研究了在硅片、柯伐合金和石英片等不同衬底材料上PECVD生长的微晶硅薄膜的压阻特性。测得以硅片和柯伐合金片作衬底样品的最大应变灵敏度因子(以下简称GF)分别为25和20,经激光退火后可达30。利用价带顶轻、重空穴带在应力作用下分裂模型和热电子发射理论推导了计算p型微晶、多晶硅薄膜GF的公式,可表示为GF对掺杂浓度、晶粒尺寸、晶界陷阱态密度以及薄膜织构的依赖关系,理论计算与实验结果较为符台。本文对微晶、多晶硅薄膜力敏器件的设计和制造将有重要的参考价值。 关键词：     

Surface disorder in c-Si induced by swift heavy ions

The disorders induced in crystalline silicon (c-Si) through the process of electronic energy loss in the swift heavy ion irradiation were investigated. A number of silicon <1 0 0> samples were irradiated with 65 MeV oxygen ions at different fluences, 1×10¹³ to 1.5×10¹⁴ ions/cm², and characterized by the Raman spectroscopy, the optical reflectivity, the X-ray reflectivity, the atomic force microscopy (AFM) and the X-ray diffraction (XRD) techniques. The intensity, redshift, phonon coherence length and asymmetric broadening associated with the Raman peaks reveal that stressed and disordered lattice zones are produced in the surface region of the irradiated silicon. The average crystallite size, obtained by analyzing Raman spectrum with the phonon confinement model, was very large in the virgin silicon but decreased to<100 nm dimension in the ion irradiated silicon. The results of the X-ray reflectivity, AFM and optical reflectivity of 200–700 nm radiation indicate that the roughness of the silicon surface has enhanced substantially after ion irradiation. The diffusion of oxygen in silicon surface during ion irradiation is evident from the oscillation in the X-ray reflectivity spectrum and the sharp decrease in the reflectivity of 200–400 nm radiation. The rise in temperature, estimated from the heat spike model, was high enough to melt the local silicon surface. The results of XRD indicate that lattice defects have been induced and a new plane <2 1 1> has been formed in the silicon <1 0 0>after ion irradiation. The results of the present study show that the energy deposited in crystalline silicon through the process of electronic energy loss ～0.944 keV/nm per ion is sufficient to induce disorders of appreciable magnitude in the silicon surface even at a fluence of ～10¹³ ions/cm².     

(n)nc-Si：H/(p)c-Si异质结中载流子输运性质的研究

采用常规等离子体增强化学气相沉积工艺,以高H₂稀释的SiH₄作为反应气体源和PH₃作为磷原子的掺杂剂,在p型(100)单晶硅((p)c-Si)衬底上, 成功地生长了施主掺杂型纳米硅膜((n)nc-Si:H),进而制备了(n)nc-Si:H/(p)c-Si异质结,并在230—420Ｋ温度范围内实验研究了该异质结的Ｉ-Ｖ特性.结果表明,(n)nc-Si:H/(p)c- Si异质结为一典型的突变异质结构,具有良好的温度稳定性和整流特性.正向偏压下 关键词： (n)nc-Si:H/(p)c-Si异质结 能带模型 电流输运机构 温度特性     

Excess Carrier Lifetime Improvement in c-Si Solar Cells by YAG:Ce~(3+)-Yb~(3+)

Ce~(3+)-Yb~(3+) doped Y_3A_(15)O_(12)(YAG) is a luminescent down-conversion material which could convert visible photons to near infrared photons.In this work,YAG:Ce~(3+)-Yb~(3+) is applied on the front surface of mass-produced mono crystalline Si solar cells.For the coated cells,the external quantum efficiency from the visible to the near infrared is improved,and the energy conversion efficiency enhances from 11.70% to 12.2% under AM1.5G.Furthermore,the phosphor down-conversion effect on the solar cell is characterized by the microwave detected photoconductivity technique on the n-type silicon wafer under the 977 nm excitation.The down-conversion materials improve the average excess carrier lifetime from 22.5 μs to 24.2 μs and the average surface recombination velocity reduces from 424.5 cm/s to 371.6 cm/s,which reveal the significant reduction in excess carrier recombination by the phosphors.     

富硅氮化硅／c—Si异质结中的电流输运机理研究

采用对靶磁控溅射方法在P型晶体硅（c—Si）衬底上沉积n型富硅氮化硅（SiNx）薄膜,形成了富硅SiNx／c—Si异质结．异质结器件呈现出较高的整流比,在室温下当V=4-2V时为1．3×10^3．在正向偏压下温度依赖的J—V特性曲线可以分为三个明显不同的区域．在低偏压区载流子的输运满足欧姆传输机理,在中间偏压区的电流是由载流子的隧穿过程和复合过程共同决定的,在较高偏压区的电输运以具有指数陷阱分布的空间电荷限制电流（SCLC）传输机理为主．