Enhanced quantum efficiency of amorphous silicon thin film solar cells with the inclusion of a rear-reflector thin film

Abstract

We investigated the growth mechanism of amorphous silicon thin films by implementing hot-wire chemical vapor deposition and fabricated thin film solar cell devices. The fabricated cells showed efficiencies of 7.5 and 8.6% for the samples without and with the rear-reflector decomposed by sputtering, respectively. The rear-reflector enhances the quantum efficiency in the infrared spectral region from 550 to 750 nm. The more stable quantum efficiency of the sample with the inclusion of a rear-reflector than the sample without the rear-reflector due to the bias effect is related to the enhancement of the short circuit current.