Abstract
Means to develop efficient solar cells using as-deposited large-grain (~20 mm) atmospheric pressure iodine vapor transport (APIVT) thin-silicon materials are explored with grain boundary passivation and low-temperature device processing. Hot-wire chemical vapor deposition (HWCVD) a-SiNx:H films are used as anti-reflection coating and passivation layers. After thermal annealing at varioustemperatures, Voc of the solar cell devices was improved by about 10%, and Jsc was increased by as much as 46%. A HWCVD-deposited a(mc)-Si emitter reduces the open-circuit voltage loss caused by grain boundaries in the polycrystalline APIVT-Si layers. Epitaxial growth on metallurgical grade (MG) silicon seeded substrates results in very large grain sizes so that a much less stringent passivationprocess would be needed. With optimized growth conditions, we are able to eliminate gas-phase nucleation that leads to spurious growth in the bulk and on the surface of silicon films. A smoother surface and nearly isotropic growth characteristics are also obtained, compared to films grown earlier.
Original language | American English |
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Number of pages | 6 |
State | Published - 2003 |
Event | National Center for Photovoltaics (NCPV) and Solar Program Review Meeting - Denver, Colorado Duration: 24 Mar 2003 → 26 Mar 2003 |
Conference
Conference | National Center for Photovoltaics (NCPV) and Solar Program Review Meeting |
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City | Denver, Colorado |
Period | 24/03/03 → 26/03/03 |
NREL Publication Number
- NREL/CP-520-33574
Keywords
- direct deposition
- polycrystalline silicon
- solar cells
- thin films