Doped SiO x emitter layer in amorphous/crystalline silicon heterojunction solar cell

In this work we propose to replace the emitter layer of the n-type doped a-Si:H/p-type doped crystalline silicon heterojunction solar cell, with an n-type doped SiO _x amorphous oxide layer. The n-type doped SiO _x :H shows a lower activation energy and higher carrier mobility value with respect to the n-type doped a-Si:H. Moreover, higher transmission, below 500 nm of wavelength, and higher conductivity are measured. The relevance of transparency of the (n) a-SiO _x :H has been studied using that film in solar cells. The electrical parameters revealed a solar cell efficiency of 15.8 %. Moreover, the effect of TCO as a front side cell electrode is considered and discussed on the base of its workfunction when applied on top of the n-type doped SiO _x emitter layer using also numerical simulations.