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Buffer Layers for Narrow Bandgap A-SIGE Solar Cells

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 February 2011

X. B. Liao ,
J. Walker  and
X. Deng
X. B. Liao
Affiliation:
Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Toledo, Toledo, OH 43606
J. Walker
Affiliation:
Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Toledo, Toledo, OH 43606
X. Deng
Affiliation:
Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Toledo, Toledo, OH 43606
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Abstract

In high efficiency narrow bandgap (NBG) a-SiGe solar cells, thin buffer layers of unalloyed hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si) are usually used at the interfaces between the a-SiGe intrinsic layer and the doped layers. We investigated the effect of inserting additional a-SiGe interface layers between these a-Si buffer layers and the a-SiGe absorber layer. We found that such additional interface layers increase solar cell VOC and FF sizably, most likely due to the reduction or elimination of the abrupt bandgap discontinuity between the a-SiGe absorber layer and the a-Si buffer layers. With these improved narrow bandgap solar cells incorporated into the fabrication of triple-junction a-Si based solar cells, we obtained triple cells with initial efficiency of 10.6%.

Type
Research Article
Information
MRS Online Proceedings Library (OPL) , Volume 557: Symposium A – Amorphous and Heterogeneous Silicon Thin Films—Fundamentals to Devices—1999 , 1999 , 779
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 1999

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