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Correlation of Light-induced Enhancement of Open-Circuit Voltage and Structural Change of Heterogeneous Silicon Solar Cells

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 February 2011

Jeffrey Yang ,
Kenneth Lord ,
Baojie Yan ,
Arindam Banerjee ,
Subhendu Guha ,
Daxing Han  and
Keda Wang
Jeffrey Yang
Affiliation:
United Solar Systems Corp., 1100 West Maple Road Troy, MI 48084-5352 U.S.A.
Kenneth Lord
Affiliation:
United Solar Systems Corp., 1100 West Maple Road Troy, MI 48084-5352 U.S.A.
Baojie Yan
Affiliation:
United Solar Systems Corp., 1100 West Maple Road Troy, MI 48084-5352 U.S.A.
Arindam Banerjee
Affiliation:
United Solar Systems Corp., 1100 West Maple Road Troy, MI 48084-5352 U.S.A.
Subhendu Guha
Affiliation:
United Solar Systems Corp., 1100 West Maple Road Troy, MI 48084-5352 U.S.A.
Daxing Han
Affiliation:
Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, NC 27599-3211 U.S.A.
Keda Wang
Affiliation:
Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, NC 27599-3211 U.S.A.
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Abstract

We observe a significant light-induced increase in the open-circuit voltage, Voc, of thin-film silicon solar cells whose intrinsic (i) layer consists of an amorphous and microcrystalline mixed phase. The increase depends on the i-layer thickness, the i-layer deposition temperature, the initial Voc values, and the light-soaking intensity. An increase of as large as 150 mV is observed. The original Voc is restored after subsequent thermal annealing. In-situ photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy is used to investigate this metastable phenomenon. We find that the PL intensity and peak-energy position associated with the amorphous component of the heterogeneous material increase upon light soaking, suggesting a structural change. We propose that a reduction of microcrystalline volume fraction or size is responsible for the Voc enhancement.

Type
Research Article
Information
MRS Online Proceedings Library (OPL) , Volume 715: Symposium A – Amorphous and Heterogeneous Silicon-Based Films-2002 , 2002 , A26.1
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2002

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