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Photoelectronic Properties of the Pipi... Multilayers and their Implications for the Operation of Solar Cells

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 February 2011

L. Yang
Affiliation:
Solarex Corporation, Thin Film Division 826 Newtown-Yardley Road, Newtown, PA 18940
I. Balberg
Affiliation:
Racah Institute of Physics, Hebrew University, Jerusalem, Israel
S. Skibo
Affiliation:
Solarex Corporation, Thin Film Division 826 Newtown-Yardley Road, Newtown, PA 18940
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Abstract

We have studied the photoelectronic properties of pipi... multilayers made of a-SiC:H p-layers (∼ 100Å) alternating with a-Si:H i-layers (500Å to 4000Å). A large enhancement in d.c. coplanar photoconductivity (more than an order of magnitude) over that of bulk a-Si:H was observed with decreasing i-layer thickness of the multilayer. On the other hand, the ambipolar diffusion length was observed to decrease with decreasing i-layer thickness. These observations can be explained by the effect of charge separation due to the strong built-in electric field in the i-layer. The insertion of an ultrathin SiC layer at the p/i interface is shown to appreciably reduce the built-in field which may be directly related to the observed decrease in fill factor when such a buffer layer is used in a solar cell.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 1990

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References

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