Optical and Electrical Simulation of μc-Si:H Solar Cells: Effect of Substrate Morphology and Crystalline Fraction

Kim, Do Yun; Swaaij, R.A.C.M.M. van; Zeman, Miro

doi:10.1109/jphotov.2013.2287770

Cited by 10 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 26 publications

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“…12 −14 On the other hand, it is also reported that the chemical and crystallographic nature, and the morphology of substrates largely influences the crystalline growth resulting in a different crystalline fraction (X c ) of nc-Si:H. 15,16 X c affects the mobility gap (E μ ) of intrinsic nc-Si:H, which in turn influences the V oc of nc-Si:H solar cells. 16 nc-Si:H consists of amorphous and crystalline mixed phases and each phase has a different absorption coefficient. Therefore, when nc-Si:H films have different X c , they will absorb sunlight quite differently and, as a result, J sc as well as V oc can be different.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effect of Substrate Morphology Slope Distributions on Light Scattering, nc-Si:H Film Growth, and Solar Cell Performance

Kim

Santbergen

Jäger

et al. 2014

ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces

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Thin-film silicon solar cells are often deposited on textured ZnO substrates. The solar-cell performance is strongly correlated to the substrate morphology, as this morphology determines light scattering, defective-region formation, and crystalline growth of hydrogenated nanocrystalline silicon (nc-Si:H). Our objective is to gain deeper insight in these correlations using the slope distribution, rms roughness (σ(rms)) and correlation length (lc) of textured substrates. A wide range of surface morphologies was obtained by Ar plasma treatment and wet etching of textured and flat-as-deposited ZnO substrates. The σ(rms), lc and slope distribution were deduced from AFM scans. Especially, the slope distribution of substrates was represented in an efficient way that light scattering and film growth direction can be more directly estimated at the same time. We observed that besides a high σ(rms), a high slope angle is beneficial to obtain high haze and scattering of light at larger angles, resulting in higher short-circuit current density of nc-Si:H solar cells. However, a high slope angle can also promote the creation of defective regions in nc-Si:H films grown on the substrate. It is also found that the crystalline fraction of nc-Si:H solar cells has a stronger correlation with the slope distributions than with σ(rms) of substrates. In this study, we successfully correlate all these observations with the solar-cell performance by using the slope distribution of substrates.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effect of Substrate Morphology Slope Distributions on Light Scattering, nc-Si:H Film Growth, and Solar Cell Performance

Kim

Santbergen

Jäger

et al. 2014

ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces

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“…When using R¼26.5, the crystalline fraction (X c ) of nc-Si:H was higher. The nc-Si:H with higher X c has a lower energy band gap [32] and its overall absorption at longer wavelengths is higher. For comparison, a 2-μm thick nc-Si:H 1J reference solar cell made with R ¼26.5 has a V oc , J sc , FF, and η of 0.506 V, 20.87 mA/cm 2 , 0.67 and 7.08%, respectively.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fabrication of double- and triple-junction solar cells with hydrogenated amorphous silicon oxide (a-SiOx:H) top cell

Kim

Guijt

Tong

et al. 2015

Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells

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“…Both from the experimental observation shown in Figure 4 and from theoretical considerations [63][64][65], we can identify a minimum crystalline fraction of~20%-30% for p-doped nanocrystalline silicon films, often indicated as percolation threshold, that ensure a structural connection within the nc-Si:H network. Usually, it is inferred by a rapid improvement in transport properties [63], and it can be an indication of the overcome of the incubation zone [65].…”

Section: Nucleation Versus Passivationmentioning

confidence: 95%

Versatility of Nanocrystalline Silicon Films: from Thin-Film to Perovskite/c-Si Tandem Solar Cell Applications

et al. 2020

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Doped hydrogenated nanocrystalline (nc-Si:H) and silicon oxide (nc-SiOx:H) materials grown by plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition have favourable optoelectronic properties originated from their two-phase structure. This unique combination of qualities, initially, led to the development of thin-film Si solar cells allowing the fabrication of multijunction devices by tailoring the material bandgap. Furthermore, nanocrystalline silicon films can offer a better carrier transport and field-effect passivation than amorphous Si layers could do, and this can improve the carrier selectivity in silicon heterojunction (SHJ) solar cells. The reduced parasitic absorption, due to the lower absorption coefficient of nc-SiOx:H films in the relevant spectral range, leads to potential gain in short circuit current. In this work, we report on development and applications of hydrogenated nanocrystalline silicon oxide (nc-SiOx:H) from material to device level. We address the potential benefits and the challenges for a successful integration in SHJ solar cells. Finally, we prove that nc-SiOx:H demonstrated clear advantages for maximizing the infrared response of c-Si bottom cells in combination with perovskite top cells.

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Optical and Electrical Simulation of μc-Si:H Solar Cells: Effect of Substrate Morphology and Crystalline Fraction

Cited by 10 publications

References 26 publications

Effect of Substrate Morphology Slope Distributions on Light Scattering, nc-Si:H Film Growth, and Solar Cell Performance

Effect of Substrate Morphology Slope Distributions on Light Scattering, nc-Si:H Film Growth, and Solar Cell Performance

Fabrication of double- and triple-junction solar cells with hydrogenated amorphous silicon oxide (a-SiOx:H) top cell

Versatility of Nanocrystalline Silicon Films: from Thin-Film to Perovskite/c-Si Tandem Solar Cell Applications

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