Application of crystalline silicon surface oxidation to silicon heterojunction solar cells

We study the effect of ultra-thin oxide (SiO_x) layers inserted at the interfaces of silicon heterojunction (SHJ) solar cells on their open-circuit voltage (V_OC). The SiO_x layers can be easily formed by dipping c-Si into oxidant such as hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) and nitric acid (HNO₃). We confirm the prevention of the undesirable epitaxial growth of Si layers during the deposition of a-Si films by the insertion of the ultra-thin SiO_x layers. The formation of the SiO_x layers by H₂O₂ leads to better effective minority carrier lifetime (τ_eff) and V_OC than the case of using HNO₃. c-Si with the ultra-thin SiO_x layers formed by H₂O₂ dipping, prior to deposition of a-Si passivation layers, can have high implied V_OC of up to ∼0.714 V.     

Direct laser printing for high efficiency silicon solar cells fabrication

Silicon solar cells still require cost reduction and improved efficiency to become more competitive. New architectures can provide a significant increase in efficiency, but today most of the approaches need additional fabrication steps. In this context, laser processing offers a unique way to replace technological steps like photolithography that is not compatible with the requirements of the photovoltaic industry. In particular laser induced thermal effects can be used to activate or re-organise dopants at the silicon surface to design new emitter geometries. In this paper dopant diffusion using a nanosecond UV laser on phosphorous-doped silicon emitters is studied. The presence of a phosphosilicate glass underneath a silicon nitride layer leads to a local decrease of the emitter sheet resistance from 100 Ω/sq to 20 Ω/sq. Laser induced damage, phosphorus diffusion profile and electrical shunt are assessed in the perspective of selective emitter silicon solar cells fabrication compatible with electrochemical metal contacts deposition.     

钙钛矿/晶硅叠层太阳能电池的研究进展

有机—无机杂化钙钛矿电池因其禁带宽度可调、光吸收系数高、光电转化效率高、制备成本低等优点而被用于硅基叠层太阳能电池中,使得太阳能电池的转换效率提高,生产成本降低,应用范围也更为广泛。文章介绍了钙钛矿吸收材料和钙钛矿/晶硅叠层电池的工作原理,对钙钛矿/晶硅叠层电池的类别、影响其性能的主要因素进行了归纳综述,对钙钛矿/晶硅叠层电池未来发展进行了展望。     

光管理在晶体硅电池中的应用

光管理是提高晶体硅太阳能电池光吸收和短路电流（Jsc）进而提高转换效率的重要因素之一。本文回顾了最常见的光管理方式,包括表面抗反射、散射以及陷光等。为了降低晶体硅电池的表面反射损失,开发了多种表面抗反射结构。例如,仿生蛾眼结构利用渐变折射率实现了宽光谱低反射率,其表面反射率可达1％以下。随着晶体硅电池衬底减薄,光管理要求更加严格,除了在更宽波长范围内达到超低反射率外,还需要在更高的入射角范围内实现低反射率。此外,利用前表面散射以及背表面陷光结构提高红外光的吸收光程对于晶体硅电池特别是薄衬底晶体硅电池的有效光吸收具有重要意义。     

硅片及其太阳电池的光衰规律研究

采用氙灯模拟太阳光源,将光强调至1000 W/m2,研究常规太阳能级单晶硅片、多晶硅片和物理提纯硅片的原片、去损减薄片、热氧化钝化片、双面镀氮化硅(SiN x:H)膜钝化片、碘酒钝化片以及太阳电池的光衰规律.利用WT-2000少子寿命测试仪以及太阳电池I-V特性测试仪分别对硅片的少子寿命和太阳电池的I-V特性参数随光照时间的变化进行了测试.结果表明:所有硅片以及太阳电池在光照的最初60 min内衰减很快随后衰减变慢,180 min之后光衰速率变得很小,几乎趋于零.     

High efficiency nanotextured silicon solar cells

We report the computational modeling of forward scattering phenomena arising in Au nanoparticles array near their localized surface plasmon resonance, which by producing a strong field enhancement effect on the substrate leads to higher optical absorption and, therefore, higher efficiencies of operation. Computational calculations indicate that the ultimate efficiency of an optimized silicon nanoholes (SiNH) array texture surface in combination with the surface and bottom-of-a-trench Au nanoparticles array described herein, is 39.67%, which compares favorably with the ultimate efficiency of 31.11% for an optimized silicon nanoholes array texture surface. Furthermore, the utilization of an optimized silicon nitride antireflection coating increases the ultimate efficiency to a promising value of 41.88%, while the utilization of a single-crystal silicon layer of thickness 2.8 μm will be instrumental in drastically reducing solar cell manufacturing cost.     

High-temperature processing of crystalline silicon thin-film solar cells

The crystalline silicon thin-film solar cell combines, in principle, the advantages of crystalline silicon wafer-based solar cells and of thin-film solar cell technologies. Its efficiency potential is the highest of all thin-film cells. In the “high-temperature approach” thin silicon layers are deposited on substrates that withstand processing temperatures higher than 1000 °C. The basic features of the high-temperature crystalline silicon thin-film cell technology are described and some important results are discussed. Received: 1 March 1999 / Accepted: 28 March 1999 / Published online: 24 June 1999     

Rapid dislocation‐density mapping of as‐cut crystalline silicon wafers

Rapid quantification of structural defects, especially dislocations, is desired for characterization of semiconductor materials. Herein, we outline and validate a low‐cost approach for dislocation‐density quantification in silicon, involving a high‐resolution commercial dark‐field imaging device, a flatbed scanner. This method requires minimal surface preparation and can be performed on as‐cut 15.6 × 15.6 cm²wafers in less than 5 minutes. The method has been tested at a spatial resolution down to 250 µm. At 1 mm resolution, the average root mean square of the normalized error was 0.39.

     

载流子选择性接触:高效硅太阳电池的选择

太阳电池可看成由光子吸收层和接触层两个基本单元组成,接触层是高复合活性金属界面和光子吸收层之间的区域.为了进一步提高硅太阳电池的转换效率,关键是降低光子吸收层和接触之间的复合损失.近年来,载流子选择性接触引起了光伏界的研究兴趣,其被认为是接近硅太阳电池效率理论极限的最后的障碍之一.本文分析了三种类型的载流子选择性接触:在光子吸收层与金属界面之间引入薄的重掺杂层,即所谓的发射极或背面场;利用两种材料之间的导带或价带对齐;利用高功函数的金属氧化物与晶硅接触从而在晶硅中感应能带弯曲.基于一维太阳电池模拟软件wx AMPS,模拟了扩散同质结硅太阳电池[结构为(p~+)c-Si/(n)c-Si/(n~+)c-Si]、非晶硅薄膜硅异质结太阳电池[结构为(p~+)a-Si/(i)a-Si/(n)c-Si/(i)a-Si/(n~+)a-Si]和氧化物薄膜硅异质结太阳电池[结构为(n)MoO_x/(n)c-Si/(n)TiO_x]暗态下的能带结构和载流子浓度的空间分布,其中c-Si为晶硅;a-Si为非晶硅;(i),(n)和(p)分别表示本征、n型掺杂和p型掺杂.模拟结果表明:载流子选择性接触的核心是在接触处晶硅表面附近形成载流子浓度空间分布的不对称进而使得电导率的不对称,形成了对电子的高阻和空穴的低阻或者对空穴的高阻和电子的低阻,从而让空穴轻松通过同时阻挡电子,或者让电子轻松通过同时阻挡空穴,形成空穴选择性接触或者电子选择性接触.     

Black multi‐crystalline silicon solar cells

A simple method for nano‐scale texturing of silicon surfaces based on local metal‐catalyzed wet chemical etching, which results in an almost complete suppression of reflectivity in a broad spectral range, has been successfully applied to produce black multi‐crystalline silicon solar cells. The performance of the cells is compared to that of reference cells without surface nano‐texturing. A considerable increase of the short circuit current (by 36–42% with respect to the reference cells) without deterioration of other performance parameters is observed under natural sun illumination. Means of further optimization of such black solar cells are discussed. (© 2007 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

晶体硅太阳电池表面纳米线阵列减反射特性研究

为增强晶体硅太阳电池的光利用率, 提高光电转换效率, 研究了硅纳米线阵列的光学散射性质. 运用严格耦合波理论对硅纳米线阵列在310—1127 nm波段的反射率进行了模拟计算, 用田口方法对硅纳米线阵列的表面传输效率进行了优化. 结果表明, 当硅纳米线阵列的周期为50 nm, 占空比为0.6, 高度约1000 nm时减反射效果最佳; 该结构在上述波段的平均反射率约为2%, 且在较大入射角度范围保持不变. 采用金属催化化学腐蚀法, 于室温、室压条件下在单晶硅表面制备周期为60 nm,占空比为0.53, 高度为500 nm的硅纳米线阵列结构, 其反射率的实验测试结果与计算模拟值相符, 在上述波段的平均反射率为4%—5%, 相对于单晶硅35%左右的反射率, 减反射效果明显. 这种减反射微结构能够在降低太阳电池成本的同时有效减小单晶硅表面的光反射损失, 提高光电转换效率.     

Amorphous/crystalline silicon heterojunction solar cells with black silicon texture

Excellent passivation of black silicon surfaces by thin amorphous silicon layers deposited with plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition is demonstrated. Minority charge carrier lifetimes of 1.3 milliseconds, enabling an implied open‐circuit voltage of 714 mV, were achieved. The influence of amorphous silicon parasitic epitaxial growth and thickness, as well as of the texture depth is investigated. Furthermore, quantum efficiency gains for wavelengths above 600 nm, as compared to random textured solar cells, are demonstrated in 17.2% efficient amorphous–crystalline silicon heterojunction solar cells with black silicon texture. (© 2014 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH &Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

A glass thinning and texturing method for light incoupling in thin‐film polycrystalline silicon solar cells application

For polycrystalline silicon (poly‐Si) thin‐film solar cells on ～3 mm borosilicate glass, glass thinning reduces the glass absorption and light leaking to neighbouring cells; the glass texturing of the sun‐facing side suppresses reflection. In this Letter, a labour‐free wet etching method is developed to texture and thin the glass at the same time in contrast to conventionally separated labour‐intensive glass thinning and texturing processes. For 2 cm² size poly‐Si thin‐film solar cells on glass superstrate, this wet etching successfully thins down the glass from 3 mm to 0.5 mm to check the ultimate benefit of the process and introduces a large micron texture on the sun‐facing glass surface. The process enhances J_sc by 6.3% on average, with the optimal J_sc enhancement of 8%, better than the value of 4.6% found in the literature. This process also reduces the loss in external quantum efficiency (EQE loss), which is due to light leaking to neighbouring cells, dramatically. (© 2012 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Photographic diagnosis of crystalline silicon solar cells utilizing electroluminescence

The photographic surveying of electroluminescence (EL) under forward bias was proved to be a powerful diagnostic tool for investigating not only the material properties but also process induced deficiencies visually in silicon (Si) solar cells. Under forward bias condition, solar cells emit infrared light (wavelength around 1000 to 1200 nm) whose intensity reflects the number of minority carriers in base layers. Thus, all the causes that affect the carrier density can be detected, i.e., the minority carrier diffusion length (or in other words, lifetime), recombination velocity at surfaces and interfaces, etc. (intrinsic material properties), and wafer breakage and electrode breakdown, etc. (extrinsic defects). The EL intensity distribution can be captured by Si CCD camera in less than 1 s, and the detection area simply depends upon the optical lens system suitable to the wide range of 1 cm–1.5 m. This fast and precise technique is superior to the conventional scanning method such as the laser beam induced current (LBIC) method. The EL images are displayed as grayscale, which leads to the difficulty of distinguishing the sorts of those deficient areas. Since the intrinsic deficiency is more sensitive to temperature than the extrinsic deficiency, the change in solar cell temperature can offer the difference in EL intensity contrasts. These effects upon the measurement temperature can be applied to categorize the types of deficiency in the crystalline Si solar cell.     

Light trapping by chemically micro-textured glass for crystalline silicon solar cells

Results of the studies of optical properties of anti-reflective glasses with various texturization patterns, which were used as a coating for crystalline silicon solar cells, are presented. It was found that glass samples sorted by their optical transmittance demonstrated the same order as when sorted by their solar-cell short-circuit current enhancement parameter. The value of the latter depended on the parameters of texturization, such as the surface density of inclusions and their profile, and the depth of etching pits. A 2% relative increase of the solar cell efficiency was obtained for the best glass sample for null degree angle of incidence, proving enhanced light trapping properties of the studied glass.     

晶体硅太阳电池金属电极光学损失的理论分析与实验研究

本文基于丝网印刷和丝网印刷后光诱导电镀太阳电池,分析了太阳电池前表面金属电极引起的光学损失的各种情况.考虑到空气-玻璃界面和金属电极两侧边缘区域的反射,通过将金属电极截面近似为半椭圆形模拟了电极的光学损失,计算得到的有效宽度比约为金属电极几何宽度的40%.通过对不同类型样品反射谱的测量计算,同时在理论模拟和实验测量上得到了太阳电池前表面金属电极的光学损失,相应的理论与实验结果相符合. 关键词： 光学损失 有效宽度比 光诱导电镀 反射谱     

Interface states study of intrinsic amorphous silicon for crystalline silicon surface passivation in HIT solar cell

Intrinsic hydrogenated amorphous silicon(a-Si:H) film is deposited on n-type crystalline silicon(c-Si) wafer by hotwire chemical vapor deposition(HWCVD) to analyze the amorphous/crystalline heterointerface passivation properties.The minority carrier lifetime of symmetric heterostructure is measured by using Sinton Consulting WCT-120 lifetime tester system,and a simple method of determining the interface state density(D_(it)) from lifetime measurement is proposed.The interface state density(D_(it)) measurement is also performed by using deep-level transient spectroscopy(DLTS) to prove the validity of the simple method.The microstructures and hydrogen bonding configurations of a-Si:H films with different hydrogen dilutions are investigated by using spectroscopic ellipsometry(SE) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy(FTIR) respectively.Lower values of interface state density(D_(it)) are obtained by using a-Si:H film with more uniform,compact microstructures and fewer bulk defects on crystalline silicon deposited by HWCVD.     

晶体硅太阳电池双层电极优化分析与实验研究

相对于单层电极结构,优化的前表面双层电极能够明显减小功率损失,改善晶体硅太阳电池的电学特性．本文对晶体硅太阳电池的双层电极进行了优化分析和实验研究.通过扫描电子显微镜观测将双层电极的截面抽象为更接近于实际的半椭圆型,建立了太阳电池前表面的双层电极模型,理论分析了双层电极的电学损失和光学损失.结合丝网印刷后光诱导电镀太阳电池的实验,得到了理论和实验上的最优化光诱导电镀增厚电极厚度与丝网印刷电极宽度的关系.所得到的理论和实验结果符合良好.由于并不涉及电极制备的具体技术,双层电极理论模型普遍适用于多种类型的双层电极结构.     

Multi‐crystalline silicon solar cells with metal‐assisted nano‐texturing using HNO3 as hole injection agent

In this study, metal‐assisted etching (MAE) with nitric acid (HNO₃) as a hole injecting agent has been employed to texture multi‐crystalline silicon wafers. It was previously proven that addition of HNO₃ enabled control of surface texturing so as to form nano‐cone shaped structures rather than nanowires. The process parameters optimized for optically efficient texturing have been applied to multi‐crystalline wafers. Fabrication of p‐type Al:BSF cells have been carried out on textured samples with thermal SiO₂/PECVD‐SiN_x stack passivation and screen printed metallization. Firing process has been optimized in order to obtain the best contact formation. Finally, j_sc enhancement of 0.9 mA/cm² and 0.6% absolute increase in the efficiency have been achieved. This proves that the optimized MAE texture process can be successfully used in multi‐crystalline wafer texturing with standard passivation methods.

J –V curves and SEM images of the nano and iso‐textured samples. j_sc enhancement of 0.9 mA/cm² together with 0.6% absolute efficiency gain was observed on nano‐textured samples.