Hostname: page-component-7bb8b95d7b-l4ctd Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-09-19T14:26:30.065Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Amorphous Silicon and Silicon Germanium Alloy Solar Cells Deposited by VHF at High Rates

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  17 March 2011

Jeffrey Yang
Affiliation:
United Solar Systems Corp., 1100 West Maple Road, Troy, Michigan 48084
Baojie Yan
Affiliation:
United Solar Systems Corp., 1100 West Maple Road, Troy, Michigan 48084
Jozef Smeets
Affiliation:
N.V. Bekaert S.A., Bekaertstraat, 2, B-8550 Zwevegem, Belgium
Subhendu Guha
Affiliation:
United Solar Systems Corp., 1100 West Maple Road, Troy, Michigan 48084
Get access

Abstract

A modified very high frequency (MVHF) glow discharge technique is used to deposit amorphous silicon (a-Si) and amorphous silicon-germanium (a-SiGe) alloy solar cells at high deposition rates. High quality a-Si alloy solar cells have been obtained by using MVHF at deposition rates up to ∼10 Å/s. The cells show good initial and stabilized efficiencies comparable to those obtained from conventional radio-frequency (RF) glow discharge deposition at low rates (∼1 Å/s). However, high quality a-SiGe alloy solar cells are more difficult to achieve at high deposition rates. In this paper, we present the progress made on a-SiGe alloy solar cells by incorporating bandgap profiling and appropriate buffer layers. Using the improved a-SiGe alloy solar cells, a-Si/a-SiGe tandem configurations are made and results presented.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2001

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

1. Meier, J., Torres, P., Platz, R., Dubail, S., Kroll, U., Selvan, J. A. A., Vaucher, N. P., Hof, Ch., Fischer, D., Keppner, H., Shah, A., Ufert, K.-D.. Giannoules, P., and Koehler, J., Mater. Res. Soc. Symp. Proc. 420, (1996) p.3.10.1557/PROC-420-3Google Scholar
2. Meiling, H., Bezemer, J., Schropp, R. E. I., and Weg, W. F. Van der, Mater. Res. Soc. Symp. Proc. 467, (1997) p.459.Google Scholar
3. Yang, J., Sugiyama, S., and Guha, S., Mater. Res. Soc. Symp. Proc. 507, (1998) p157.Google Scholar
4. Yan, B., Yang, J., Guha, S., and Gallagher, A., Mater. Res. Soc. Symp. Proc. 557, (1999) p115.Google Scholar
5. Takai, M., Nishimoto, T., Takagi, T., Kondo, M., and Matsuda, A., Technical Digest of International PVSEC-11, Sapporo, Japan, (1999) p.193.Google Scholar
6. Banerjee, A., Xu, X., Yang, J., and Guha, S., Mater. Res. Soc. Symp. Proc. 377, (1995) p. 675.Google Scholar
7. Guha, S., Yang, J., Pawlikiewicz, A., Glatfelter, T., Ross, R., and Ovshinsky, S.R., Appl. Phys. Lett. 54, 2330 (1989).10.1063/1.101118Google Scholar