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Effects of low-temperature annealing on the initial and stabilized performance of amorphous silicon solar cells

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  17 March 2011

D. Carlson ,
G. Ganguly  and
G. Lin
D. Carlson
Affiliation:
BP Solar, Toano, VA 23168
G. Ganguly
Affiliation:
BP Solar, Toano, VA 23168
G. Lin
Affiliation:
BP Solar, Toano, VA 23168
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Abstract

We have recently observed that the initial performance of amorphous silicon (a-Si) solar cells can be improved by up to several % by annealing the cells at successively lower temperatures for successively longer times. For some devices, we also observed an improvement in performance after light soaking that was statistically significant. We have also observed an improvement in the stabilized performance of cells that were subjected to reverse bias annealing after light soaking. This effect was clearly evident in single-junction p-i-n cells with amorphous silicon-carbon (a-SiC) i-layers where the density of metastable centers is very high (> 1018cm-3). When we light-soaked a-SiC cells and then subjected them to low-temperature reverse bias annealing, they exhibited clear evidence of improved short-wavelength response after a second light soaking. These annealing effects are explained in terms of hydrogen motion within the a-Si network and within microvoids.

Type
Research Article
Information
MRS Online Proceedings Library (OPL) , Volume 664: Symposium A – Amorphous and Heterogeneous Silicon-Based Films-2001 , 2001 , A25.4.1
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2001

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References

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