Abstract
An amorphous Si (a-Si) solar cell with a back reflector composed of zinc oxide (ZnO) and silver (Ag) is potentially the most plausible and flexible solar cell if a graphite sheet is used as the substrate. Graphite supplies lightness, conductivity and flexibility to devices. When a graphite sheet is used as the substrate, carbon can diffuse into the Ag layer in the subsequent p-i-n process at 200–400 °C. To prevent this, we added an oxide layer as a carbon diffusion barrier between the carbon substrate and the back reflector. For the carbon diffusion barrier, silicon oxide (SiO2) or tin oxide (SnOx) was used. We evaluated the thermal stability of the back reflector of a carbon substrate using secondary-ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) to analyze the carbon diffusion barrier material. We confirmed the deposition characteristics, reflectance and prevention of carbon diffusion with and without the barrier. Finally, the structures were incorporated into the solar cell and their performances compared. The results showed that the back reflectors that were connected to a carbon diffusion barrier presented better performance, and the reflector with an SnOx layer presented the best performance.
Highlights
The interest in renewable energy sources is constantly increasing due to the concurrent increase in environmental issues [1]
A back reflector which consisted of zinc oxide/silver (ZnO/Ag) was added to increase the light efficiency [16,17]
4. 4.Conclusions this study, graphite sheet was used a substrateininsolar solarcells cellsfor forlight lightand andflexible flexibledevices
Summary
The interest in renewable energy sources is constantly increasing due to the concurrent increase in environmental issues [1]. Devices are becoming smaller and lighter [3,4], and an emerging trend for devices is the adaptation for flexible appliances [5]. On this basis, we developed the idea of a solar cell integrated to a flexible device [6]. Carbon materials are light, have high electrical conductivity, can be processed in various forms [8,9,10,11,12] and can be flexible [13]; a solar cell with a carbon substrate is lighter and more flexible [14]. A back reflector which consisted of zinc oxide/silver (ZnO/Ag) was added to increase the light efficiency [16,17]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
