Potential of amorphous and microcrystalline silicon solar cells

Meier, J.; Spitznagel, J.; Kroll, U.; Bucher, C.; Faÿ, S.; Moriarty, T.; Shah, A.

doi:10.1016/j.tsf.2003.11.014

Cited by 191 publications

(83 citation statements)

References 4 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…a-Si:H solar cells have, indeed, reached independently confirmed stable efficiency (h) of 9.47% and micromorph tandem stable efficiencies of 10.8% [1]. The former result represents one of the highest stable efficiencies ever reported for a-Si:H solar cells.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 52%

High-Efficiency P-I-N Microcrystalline and Micromorph Thin Film Silicon Solar Cells Deposited on LPCVD Zno Coated Glass Substrates

Bailat

Dominé

Schlüchter

et al. 2006

2006 IEEE 4th World Conference on Photovoltaic Energy Conference

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The authors report on the fabrication of microcrystalline silicon p-i-n solar cells with efficiencies close to 10%, using glass coated with zinc oxide (ZnO) deposited by low pressure chemical vapor deposition (LPCVD).LPCVD front contacts were optimized for p-i-n microcrystalline silicon solar cells by decreasing the free carrier absorption of the layers and increasing the surface roughness. These modifications resulted in an increased current density of the solar cell but also in significantly reduced fillfactor (FF) and open-circuit voltage (Voc). In order to avoid these reductions, a new surface treatment of the ZnO is introduced. It transforms profoundly the surface morphology by turning the typical V-shaped valleys of the LPCVD ZnO into U-shaped valleys and by erasing from the surface small-sized pyramids and asperities. As a result, for fixed deposition parameters, the p-i-n microcrystalline silicon solar cell efficiency increased from 3.3% to 9.2%Further optimization of the microcrystalline silicon solar cell on this 'new' type of LPCVD ZnO front contact has led to an efficiency of 9.9%.

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 52%

High-Efficiency P-I-N Microcrystalline and Micromorph Thin Film Silicon Solar Cells Deposited on LPCVD Zno Coated Glass Substrates

Bailat

Dominé

Schlüchter

et al. 2006

2006 IEEE 4th World Conference on Photovoltaic Energy Conference

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Single junction lc-Si:H cells already reached efficiency in the order of 10% [1][2][3]. Moreover, it can be combined with amorphous silicon to form tandem (micromorph) cells that reach initial efficiencies up to 13-14.5% [4,5].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Relation between substrate surface morphology and microcrystalline silicon solar cell performance

Python¹,

Vallat-Sauvain²,

Bailat³

et al. 2008

Journal of Non-Crystalline Solids

190

126

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

In the present paper, the structural and electrical performances of microcrystalline silicon (lc-Si:H) single junction solar cells codeposited on a series of substrates having different surface morphologies varying from V-shaped to U-shaped valleys, are analyzed. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) is used to quantify the density of cracks within the cells deposited on the various substrates. Standard 1 sun, variable illumination measurements (VIM) and Dark J(V) measurements are performed to evaluate the electrical performances of the devices. A marked increase of the reverse saturation current density (J 0 ) is observed for increasing crack densities. By introducing a novel equivalent circuit taking into account such cracks as non-linear shunts, the authors are able to relate the magnitude of the decrease of V oc and FF to the increasing density of cracks.

show abstract

“…In laboratory tests, the best mc-Si:H singlejunction solar cells currently attain conversion efficiencies in the order of 10% [13,14], with a record, confirmed initial efficiency of 10.1% for 2 mm on glass and a cell area of 1.2 cm 2 [15]. On the other hand, the best, confirmed stabilized efficiency for single-junction a-Si:H solar cells is equal to 9.5% for a 1-cm 2 test cell [16], whereas an initial value of 128.8 W and an expected stabilized output power of $100 W have been presented for 1.4-m 2 a-Si:H modules [17]. The a-Si:H/mc-Si:H tandem solar cell, usually known as a 'micromorph' or 'hybrid', was first introduced at IMT Neuchaˆtel.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 89%

Limiting factors in the fabrication of microcrystalline silicon solar cells and microcrystalline/amorphous (‘micromorph’) tandems

Meillaud

Feltrin

Dominé

et al. 2009

Philosophical Magazine

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Potential of amorphous and microcrystalline silicon solar cells

Cited by 191 publications

References 4 publications

High-Efficiency P-I-N Microcrystalline and Micromorph Thin Film Silicon Solar Cells Deposited on LPCVD Zno Coated Glass Substrates

High-Efficiency P-I-N Microcrystalline and Micromorph Thin Film Silicon Solar Cells Deposited on LPCVD Zno Coated Glass Substrates

Relation between substrate surface morphology and microcrystalline silicon solar cell performance

Limiting factors in the fabrication of microcrystalline silicon solar cells and microcrystalline/amorphous (‘micromorph’) tandems

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About