Thin film polycrystalline silicon solar cells

Barnett, Allen; Hall, R.B.; Rand, James A.; Kendall, C.L.; Ford, D.H.

doi:10.1016/0165-1633(91)90117-4

Cited by 14 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 3 publications

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“…This is explained as follows. The Voc for the solar cells is in general expressed by I1' 1~' 28 Voc = (nkT/q) in (Jsc/j0) [1] where n is the ideality factor, k the Boltzmann constant, T the temperature, q the elementary charge, Jsc the shortcircuit photocurrent density, and J0 the dark saturation current density. If recombination currents in the space charge layer and at the surface are neglected, J0 is approximated by the sum of the majority and the minority carrier dark current densities, each expressed by J0n and J0p, respectively, and n = 1 holds.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Preparation of a Langmuir‐Blodgett Layer of Ultrafine Platinum Particles and Its Application to n‐Si for Efficient Photoelectrochemical Solar Cells

Yae¹,

Nakanishi²,

Nakato³

et al. 1994

J. Electrochem. Soc.

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A Langmuir layer of ultrafine platinum particles (2-6 nm in diam) has been developed on a water surface by dropping a Pt colloid solution, prepared by refluxing an ethanol-water (1:1) solution of hexachloroplatinic(IV) acid in the presence of poly(N-vinyl-2-pyrrolidone) as a stabilizer. The layer is transferred onto a single-crystal n-type silicon (n-St) wafer by the horizontal lifting method. The Pt particles are rather homogeneously scattered on n-St, and the particle density can be controlled on a nanometer scale by changing the area of the Langmuir layer at the time of transfer. The open-circuit photovoltage (Voc) for photoeleetrochemieal (PEC) solar cells with such n-St electrodes is inversely related to Pt-particle density, and reaches 0.635 V, much higher than that for n-St coated with a continuous Pt layer (ca. 0.30 V) or that for the conventional p-n junction Si solid solar cell of a similar simple cell structure (ca. 0.59 V). This result is in halTnony with our previously proposed theory, the above increase in Voc being explained by the decrease in the majority carrier dark saturation current density.The main target in recent solar-cell research lies in how to fabricate low-cost solar cells without lowering conversion efficiency. Many studies have been made toward this aim, mostly using polycrystalline thin films of St, i-~ CdTe/ CdS, 6 CuInSe2, 6 or granular Si 7 for solid-state solar cells. Various types of photoelectrochemical (PEC) solar cells have been studied, using single crystal St, 8 polycrystalline FeS2, 9 dye-modified polycrystalline TiQ, 10 among others.We have been studying solar cells of a new type, for both PEC and solid-state application, in which an Si semiconductor is modified with ultrafine metal particles. I~ 18 PEC solar cells of this type, with single crystal n-St electrodes, generate extremely high open-circuit photoveltages (Voc) of 0.62-0.685 V, i~-~6 and conversion effieiencies up to 14.9%.18 Though the n-St PEC cells have inadequate stability for long-term practical application, the principle and the fabrication techniques can be applied to stable solidstate solar cells of the same type. ~I'~8 The method is also expected to be applicable to polycrystalline Si thin films.A continuing problem for the above-type solar cells is that, though the n-St PEC cells give very high Vocs mentioned above, the Voc values are scattered from electrode to electrode in the range of _+0.02 V, for ostensibly similar preparations. This is probably due to scatter in the size and the separation of the metal particles on n-St for the metalparticle deposition methods adopted thus far. Theoretically, it is of key importance for obtaining high Voc to control the size and the separation of the metal particles on Si on a nanometer scale, the ideal size and separation for n-St of 1 ~ cm being estimated to be about 5 nm and ca. 20 nm, respectively. :2 To control the metal particles on Si on such an ultrafine scale is quite difficult at present. It is impossible to attain it by use of the present photolithogr...

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Preparation of a Langmuir‐Blodgett Layer of Ultrafine Platinum Particles and Its Application to n‐Si for Efficient Photoelectrochemical Solar Cells

Yae¹,

Nakanishi²,

Nakato³

et al. 1994

J. Electrochem. Soc.

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“…Initial theoretical analysis based on thermodynamic considerations (Brendel 2003) suggested that rough surfaces and an asymmetric cell structure would effectively enhance optical absorption in the cell. Surface texturing, which was initially introduced to reduce surface reflectance for broadband illumination, also resulted in an increase in the optical path of light transmitted into a Si wafer (Yablonovitch 1986;Sopori 1988;Barnett et al 1991;Abenante 2006;Mutitu et al 2008). Following the initial success, texture etching became a standard process step for fabricating Si solar cells, both in the laboratory and commercially.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This implies that the wafer thickness for sufficient absorption of the solar spectrum is >700 μm. This is quite a large thickness for a Si wafer and is not desirable for commercial production of solar cells for two reasons: the wafer cost can be very high and its effectiveness for collection of photogenerated carriers will be small because it is difficult to have a minority-carrier diffusion length comparable to such a large wafer thickness (Yablonovitch 1986;Sopori 1988;Barnett et al 1991;Abenante 2006;Mutitu et al 2008). Thus, for practical reasons, wafer thickness must be less than this value.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dependence of electrical and structural properties on the thickness of n-type μc-Si thin-film silicon solar cells grown by linear facing target sputtering

El-Amin

Ibrahim

2013

International Journal of Ambient Energy

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In this work, the construction of an (Al + Ag)/n + -Si/p-Si/Al thin-film silicon (TF-Si) solar cell is presented. The maximum achievable current density generated by a planar solar cell, with an optimum antireflection coating, for different values of the cell thickness are analysed. Both electrical and optical properties of (Al + Ag)/n + -Si/p-Si/Al TF-Si solar cell have been studied, which assumes the generation of one electron-hole pair per photon and a collection efficiency of unity. A reduction in thickness can lead to an increase in V OC , it can have the opposite effect if surface recombination is not reduced simultaneously. Thin-film solar cell has an absorbed photon flux density about three times higher at each interface, implying that carrier generation at the interfaces of the thinner cell is about three times higher. Finally, for larger grain size, the recombination at the grain boundaries (GBs) of Si will mainly degrade V OC , and not J SC . From the obtained results, it is evident that the larger the grain size, the better the performance of the device. However, the interface recombination has a strong influence on each parameter.

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“…For crystalline silicon thin film (CSiTF) solar cells on the foreign substrates, a recrystallization process plays an important role in enlarging the size of the silicon grains in order to reduce the density of the electrically active defects and increase the cell efficiencies, and hence the electron-beam recrystallization [1,2], zone melting recrystallization (ZMR) [3,4] and laser recrystallization [5][6][7][8][9] are widely developed [10][11][12][13]. Foreign substrate materials, such as ceramics [14][15][16] and graphite [17], are generally used for CSiTF cell fabrication with the high temperature approach.…”

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confidence: 99%

Recrystallized thin-film silicon solar cell on graphite substrate with laser single side contact and hydrogen passivation

Wittmann

Kunz

et al. 2015

EPJ Photovolt.

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Laser single side contact formation (LSSC) and the hydrogen passivation process are studied and developed for crystalline silicon thin film (CSiTF) solar cells on graphite substrates. The results demonstrate that these two methods can improve cell performance by increasing the open circuit voltage and fill factor. In comparison with our previous work, we have achieved an increase of 3.4% absolute cell efficiency for a 40 μm thick 4 cm 2 aperture area silicon thin film solar cell on graphite substrate. Current density-voltage (J-V ) measurement, quantum efficiency (QE) and light beam induced current (LBiC) are used as characterization methods.

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Thin film polycrystalline silicon solar cells

Cited by 14 publications

References 3 publications

Preparation of a Langmuir‐Blodgett Layer of Ultrafine Platinum Particles and Its Application to n‐Si for Efficient Photoelectrochemical Solar Cells

Preparation of a Langmuir‐Blodgett Layer of Ultrafine Platinum Particles and Its Application to n‐Si for Efficient Photoelectrochemical Solar Cells

Dependence of electrical and structural properties on the thickness of n-type μc-Si thin-film silicon solar cells grown by linear facing target sputtering

Recrystallized thin-film silicon solar cell on graphite substrate with laser single side contact and hydrogen passivation

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