Abstract
The objective of this contract is to advance the thin film silicon solar cell technology developed at Southern Methodist University, Dallas, Texas, with a view toward achieving photovoltaic conversion efficiencies greater than 10% at a cost of $100 to $300/kWe. The technology developed at SMU consists of: (1) the purification of metallurgical silicon by acid extraction and phosphorus pentoxide treatment, (2) the preparation of metallurgical silicon substrates by the unidirectional solidification of the melt on graphite, (3) the deposition of a silicon p-n junction structure on metallurgical silicon substrates by the thermal reduction of trichlorosilane, and (4) the application of grid contacts and anti-reflection coatings. Major efforts during this period have been directed to the organization and planning of the overall technical approaches, particularly in regard to the preparation of metallurgical silicon substrates. The zone-melting technique has been selected for the preparation of substrates, and a moving-coil zone-melting apparatus has been designed and constructed. A chemical vapor deposition apparatus for the deposition of the active region of solar cell has also been designed and constructed. In addition, the purification of metalurgical silicon by acid-extraction has been investigated semi-quantitatively.
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