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Hydrogenated Microcrystalline Silicon Single-Junction and Multi-Junction Solar Cells

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 February 2011

Baojie Yan ,
Guozhen Yue ,
Jeffrey Yang ,
Arindam Banerjee  and
Subhendu Guha
Baojie Yan
Affiliation:
United Solar Systems Corp., Troy, MI 48084, U.S.A.
Guozhen Yue
Affiliation:
United Solar Systems Corp., Troy, MI 48084, U.S.A.
Jeffrey Yang
Affiliation:
United Solar Systems Corp., Troy, MI 48084, U.S.A.
Arindam Banerjee
Affiliation:
United Solar Systems Corp., Troy, MI 48084, U.S.A.
Subhendu Guha
Affiliation:
United Solar Systems Corp., Troy, MI 48084, U.S.A.
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Abstract

This paper summarizes our recent studies of hydrogenated microcrystalline silicon (μc-Si:H) solar cells as a potential substitute for hydrogenated silicon germanium alloy (a-SiGe:H) bottom cells in multi-junction structures. Conventional radio frequency (RF) glow discharge is used to deposit hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) and μc-Si:H at low rates (∼ 1 Å/s), searching for the highest efficiency. We have achieved an initial active-area efficiency of 13.0% and stable efficiency of 11.2% using an a-Si:H/μc-Si:H double-junction structure. Modified very high frequency (MVHF) glow discharge is used to deposit a-Si:H and μc-Si:H at high rates (∼ 3-10 Å/s) for comparison with our a-Si:H/a-SiGe:H/a-SiGe:H triple-junction production technology. The deposition time for the μc-Si:H intrinsic (i) layer in the bottom cell should be less than 30 minutes in order to be acceptable for mass production. To date, an initial active-area efficiency of 12.3% has been achieved with the bottom cell deposited in 50 minutes. By increasing the deposition rate and reducing the bottom cell thickness, we have achieved an initial active-area efficiency of 11.4% with the bottom cell i layer deposited in 30 minutes. The cell stabilized to 10.4% after prolonged light soaking. We will address issues related to μc-Si:H material, solar cell design, solar cell analysis, and stability.

Type
Research Article
Information
MRS Online Proceedings Library (OPL) , Volume 762: Symposium A – Amorphous and Nanocrystalline Silicon-Based Films – 2003 , 2003 , A4.1
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2003

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