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Correlation of Material Properties and Open-Circuit Voltage of Amorphous Silicon Based Solar Cells

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 February 2011

Baojie Yan ,
Jeffrey Yang ,
Guozhen Yue  and
Subhendu Guha
Baojie Yan
Affiliation:
United Solar Systems Corp., Troy, MI 48084, U.S.A.
Jeffrey Yang
Affiliation:
United Solar Systems Corp., Troy, MI 48084, U.S.A.
Guozhen Yue
Affiliation:
United Solar Systems Corp., Troy, MI 48084, U.S.A.
Subhendu Guha
Affiliation:
United Solar Systems Corp., Troy, MI 48084, U.S.A.
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Abstract

Correlation of hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) alloy material properties and solar cell characteristics have been studied experimentally and by computer simulation. Simulation results show that all three solar cell parameters, short-circuit current density (Jsc), open-circuit voltage (Voc), and fill factor (FF), decrease with increased defect density. For a given intrinsic layer thickness, a larger band gap (Eg) results in a higher Voc but a lower Jsc. However, FF does not depend on band gap. This allows us to distinguish the effect of change in band gap from that in defect density on the variation in Voc. For solar cells with good interface characteristics, a linear relation FF = βVoc + γ is obtained by light soaking experiments and simulation with different defect densities. The slope β is in the range from 2 to 3 V-1 depending on cell properties and light soaking condition, and the intersect γ depends mainly on the band gap. Comparing cells made with high H2 dilution to no H2 dilution, we find that a 58 mV enhancement in Voc with H2 dilution is due to both widening of band gap and reduced defect density. Simulation results also show that a narrower valence band tail leads to a higher Voc. We did not include this effect in the analysis due to lack of available data for correlation between H2 dilution and band tail narrowing.

Type
Research Article
Information
MRS Online Proceedings Library (OPL) , Volume 762: Symposium A – Amorphous and Nanocrystalline Silicon-Based Films – 2003 , 2003 , A7.4
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2003

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