Thin Silicon Solar Cells Research Articles

Development of n-μc-SiOx:H as cost effective back reflector and its application to thin film amorphous silicon solar cells

Development of doped silicon oxide based microcrystalline material as a potential candidate for cost-effective and reliable back reflector layer (BRL) for single junction solar cells is discussed in this article. Phosphorus doped μc-SiOx:H layers with a refractive index ∼2 and with suitable electrical properties were fabricated by radio frequency plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (RF-PECVD) technique, using the conventional capacitively coupled reactors. Optoelectronic properties of these layers were controlled by varying the oxygen content within the film. The performance of these layers as BRL have been investigated by incorporating them in a single junction amorphous silicon solar cell and compared with the conventional ZnO:Al based reflector layer. Single junction thin film a-Si solar cells with efficiency ∼9.12% have been successfully demonstrated by using doped SiO:H based material as a back reflector. It is found that the oxide based back reflector shows analogous performance to that of conventional ZnO:Al BRL layer. The main advantage with this technology is that, it can avoid the ex-situ deposition of ZnO:Al, by using doped μc-SiO:H based material grown in the same reactor and with the same process gases as used for thin-film silicon solar cells.

Diffuse scattering from hemispherical nanoparticles at the air–silicon interface

There has been much recent interest in the application of plasmonics to improve the efficiency of silicon solar cells. In this paper we use finite difference time domain calculations to investigate the placement of hemispherical gold nanoparticles on the rear surface of a silicon solar cell. The results indicate that nanoparticles protruding into the silicon, rather than into air, have a larger scattering efficiency and diffuse scattering into the semiconductor. This finding could lead to improved light trapping within a thin silicon solar cell device.

Design and Analysis of Spectrally Selective Patterned Thin-Film Cells

This paper outlines several techniques for systematic and efficient optimization as well as sensitivity assessment to fabrication tolerances of surface texturing patterns in thin film amorphous silicon (a-Si) solar cells. The aim is to achieve maximum absorption enhancement. The joint optimization of several geometrical parameters of a three-dimensional lattice of periodic square silver nanoparticles, and an absorbing thin layer of a-Si, using constrained optimization tools and numerical FDTD simulations is reported. Global and local optimization methods, such as the Broyden–Fletcher–Goldfarb–Shanno quasi-Newton method and simulated annealing, are employed concurrently for solving the inverse near-field radiation problem. The design of the silver-patterned solar panel is optimized to yield maximum average enhancement in photon absorption over the solar spectrum. The optimization techniques are expedited and improved using a novel nonuniform adaptive spectral sampling technique. Furthermore, the sensitivity of the optimally designed parameters of the solar structure is analyzed by postulating a probabilistic model for the errors introduced in the fabrication process. Monte Carlo simulations and unscented transform techniques are used for this purpose.

Increased Front Surface Recombination by Rear-Side Laser Processing on Thin Silicon Solar Cells

We show the degradation of the front surface passivation by rear-side laser processing of thin silicon solar cells when using a laser with a pulse length of 8 ps. 45-μm-thick back-contact back-junction monocrystalline silicon solar cells show an energy conversion efficiency of 18.8% without rear-side laser processing, whereas they show only 7.5% with an additional rear-side laser process step for contact separation. This low efficiency is due to the degradation of the front surface passivation, which is confirmed by quantum efficiency measurements. The internal quantum efficiency at short wavelength is 0.88 without laser processing, whereas it is only 0.33 with the rear-side laser process step.

PREPARATION AND CHARACTERIZATION OF P3HT-PCBM ORGANIC SOLAR CELLS

Organic solar cells using P3HT: PCBM as an active layer on ITO coated glass substrates were fabricated and characterized. Different air annealing procedures and cathode materials were tried and the characteristics were compared with that of a standard thin film polycrystalline silicon solar cell. It was found that the sample prepared with post-deposition air annealing at 130 oC improves the open circuit voltage (Voc) considerably. Besides, short circuit current (Isc) and the efficiency (η) were highest for the sample with a non annealed active layer. Series resistance (Rs) for this sample was lowest, but 103 times higher than that of the silicon solar cell, which in turn may have reduced the efficiency value for the organic cell compared to silicon.

Fabrication and characterization of zinc oxide anti-reflective coating on flexible thin film microcrystalline silicon solar cell

This paper studies the fabrication and characterization of 80nm zinc oxide anti-reflective coating (ARC) on flexible 1.3μm thin film microcrystalline silicon (μc-Si) solar cell. High resolution X-ray diffraction (HR-XRD) shows a c-axis oriented ZnO (002) peak (hexagonal crystal structure) at 34.3° with full width at half maximum (FWHM) of 0.3936°. Atomic force microscope (AFM) measures high surface roughness root-mean-square (RMS) of the layer (50.76nm) which suggests scattering of the incident light at the front surface of the solar cell. UV–vis spectrophotometer illustrates that ZnO ARC has optical transmittance of more than 80% in the visible and infra-red (IR) regions and corresponds to band gap (Eg) of 3.3eV as derived from Tauc equation. Inclusion of ZnO ARC successfully suppresses surface reflectance from the cell to 2% (at 600nm) due to refractive index grading between the Si and the ZnO besides quarter-wavelength (λ/4) destructive interference effect. The reduced reflectance and effective scattering effect of the incident light at the front side of the cell are believed to be the reasons why short-circuit current (Isc) and efficiency (η) of the cell improve.

Measurements of Raman crystallinity profiles in thin-film microcrystalline silicon solar cells

Wedge-polished thin film microcrystalline silicon solar cells are prepared and used for micro-Raman measurements. Thereby, the variations of the Raman crystallinity with depth are accessed easily. Depth resolution limits of the measurement set-up are established and calculations evidencing the role of optical limits are presented. Due to this new technique, Raman crystallinity profiles of two microcrystalline silicon cells give first hints for the optimization of the profile leading to improved electrical performance of such devices.

Multilayer silver nanoparticles for light trapping in thin film solar cells

In this paper, a systematic design and analysis of thin film crystalline silicon solar cells incorporated with a new style of multilayer silver (Ag) nanoparticles (NPs) array is presented. Using numerical simulations, we showed that multilayer Ag NPs provide better light trapping than single layer Ag NPs when the Ag NPs are located on the rear of the solar cell. Furthermore, Ag NP double layers on the rear achieved the best light absorption enhancement for solar cells. Ag NP double layers showed a 6.65% increase in intergraded quantum efficiency across the solar spectrum compared with single layer structures. The parasitic absorption occurring in Ag NP bottom layers was also discussed.

Self-organized broadband light trapping in thin film amorphous silicon solar cells

Nanostructured glass substrates endowed with high aspect ratio one-dimensional corrugations are prepared by defocused ion beam erosion through a self-organized gold (Au) stencil mask. The shielding action of the stencil mask is amplified by co-deposition of gold atoms during ion bombardment. The resulting glass nanostructures enable broadband anti-reflection functionality and at the same time ensure a high efficiency for diffuse light scattering (Haze). It is demonstrated that the patterned glass substrates exhibit a better photon harvesting than the flat glass substrate in p–i–n type thin film a-Si:H solar cells.

Combining randomly textured surfaces and photonic crystals for the photon management in thin film microcrystalline silicon solar cells

Photon management aims at optimizing the solar cell efficiency by, e.g., incorporating supporting optical nanostructures for absorption enhancement. Their geometrical design, however, is usually a compromise since requirements in different spectral domains need to be accommodated. This issue can be mitigated if multiple optical nanostructures are integrated. Here, we present a photon management scheme that combines the benefits of a randomly textured surface and an opaline photonic crystal. Moreover, upon considering the device with an increasing complexity, we show that a structure that respects the mutual fabrication constraints has the best performance, i.e., a device where the photonic crystal is not perfect but to some extent amorphous as enforced by the presence of the texture.

Arrays of ZnO nanocolumns for 3-dimensional very thin amorphous and microcrystalline silicon solar cells

We report on the hydrothermal growth of high quality arrays of single crystalline zinc oxide (ZnO) nanocolumns, oriented perpendicularly to the transparent conductive oxide substrate. In order to obtain precisely defined spacing and arrangement of ZnO nanocolumns over an area up to 0.5cm2, we used electron beam lithography. Vertically aligned ZnO (multicrystalline or single crystals) nanocolumns were grown in an aqueous solution of zinc nitrate hexahydrate and hexamethylenetetramine at 95°C, with a growth rate 0.5÷1μm/h. The morphology of the nanostructures was visualized by scanning electron microscopy. Such nanostructured ZnO films were used as a substrate for the recently developed 3-dimensional thin film silicon (amorphous, microcrystalline) solar cell, with a high efficiency potential. The photoelectrical and optical properties of the ZnO nanocolumns and the silicon absorber layers of these type nanostructured solar cells were investigated in details.

Hydrothermal synthesis of hexagonal-phase NaYF4: Er, Yb with different shapes for application as photovoltaic up-converters

Hexagonal β-NaYF4 co-doped with Yb3+ and Er3+ is directly synthesized under mild conditions using a hydrothermal method. The variation of the ratio of Ln3+ to F− and ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) causes the shape of the microcrystal to change from microplate to microcolumn. The NaYF4 powder is mixed with polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) to create an up-converter for thin film amorphous silicon solar cells so as to evaluate the effectiveness of the synthesized material as an up-converter. In order to overcome the difficulty in measuring the effectiveness of up-conversion material, a new method of using near infrared illumination to measure the short circuit current densities of solar cells both with and without up-converters is developed. An up-converter with pure hexagonal NaYF4:Yb3+/Er3+ microcrystal produces a high current output. Emission intensity data obtained by photoluminescence suggest that pure hexagonal NaYF4:Yb3+/Er3+ microcrystals are more efficient than nanocrystals when used as up-converting phosphors.

Light‐trapping properties of patch textures created using laser assisted texturing

ABSTRACTFor crystalline silicon solar cells, the efficient collection of light at wavelengths in the infrared is a challenge because of long absorption lengths. Especially for thinner wafers, an efficient light‐trapping scheme, such as the patch texture, is required for high short‐circuit current densities. We have measured the light‐trapping properties of patch textures produced by laser assisted texturing (LAST) on polished ⟨100⟩silicon wafers, and compared them with ray‐tracing simulations. Single‐sided random pyramid textures are created for comparison. Excellent agreement between simulations and measurements is achieved by employing diffuse scattering with a narrow angular distribution in the simulations, confirming the successful implementation of the process. We use our optical measurements of the textures for simulations of textures with rear reflectors, where we also investigate the influence on light‐trapping properties when varying geometry and reflectance properties. The results from the optical simulations are imported into the solar cell simulation program PC1D. For a 50 μm‐thick solar cell, we simulate an improvement in Jsc of up to 0.4 mA/cm2 when going from single‐sided random pyramid textures to patch textures, even when the performance of the texture is limited by process inaccuracies. Removing the physical inaccuracies of the laser system, the potential gain in Jsc on a 50 μm‐thick cell with a patch texture covering the complete wafer surface is 0.8 mA/cm2. We therefore conclude that the LAST method for creating patch textures is suitable to achieve an improved Jsc in thin monocrystalline silicon solar cells. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Investigating Voltage as a Function of the Reduced Junction Area for Thin Silicon Solar Cells That Utilize Epitaxial Lateral Overgrowth

In this paper, we fabricate and analyze thin silicon solar cells that are designed to have an increased voltage due to reduced junction area. This reduced junction area is achieved by using epitaxial lateral overgrowth to grow an n-Si photon absorber on a p+ Si substrate. We measure and analyze the voltage of these solar cells as a function of the junction area but find that the voltage does not demonstrate the expected gain with the reduced area. Scanning electron microscopic (SEM) cross sections indicate that the loss in voltage arises mainly from the poor quality of the lateral overgrowth region. Thus, future work will focus on improving this region's quality.

Laser annealing of thin film polycrystalline silicon solar cell

Performances of thin film polycrystalline silicon solar cell grown on glass substrate, using solid phase crystallization of amorphous silicon can be limited by low dopant activation and high density of defects. Here, we investigate line shaped laser induced thermal annealing to passivate some of these defects in the sub-melt regime. Effect of laser power and scan speed on the open circuit voltage of the polysilicon solar cells is reported. The processing temperature was measured by thermal imaging camera. Enhancement of the open circuit voltage as high as 210% is achieved using this method. The results are discussed.

Improvement of seed layer smoothness for epitaxial growth on porous silicon

ABSTRACTIn the last decades many techniques have been proposed to manufacture thin (<50µm) silicon solar cells. The main issues in manufacturing thin solar cells are the unavailability of a reliable method to produce thin silicon foils with contained material losses (kerf-losses) and the difficulties in handling and processing such fragile foils. A way to solve both issues is to grow an epitaxial foil on top of a weak sintered porous silicon layer. The porous silicon layer is formed by electrochemical etching on a thick silicon substrate and then annealed to close the top surface. This surface is employed as seed layer for the epitaxial growth of a silicon layer which can be partially processed while attached on the substrate that provides mechanical support. Afterward, the foil can be bonded on glass, detached and further processed at module level. The efficiency of the final solar cell will depend on the quality of the epitaxial layer which, in turn, depends on the seed layer smoothness.Several parameters can be adjusted to change the morphology and, hence, the properties of the porous layer, both in the porous silicon formation and the succeeding thermal treatment. This work focuses on the effect of the parameters that control the porous silicon formation on the structure of the porous silicon layer after annealing and, more specifically, on the roughness of the top surface. The reported analysis shows how the roughness of the seed layer can be reduced to improve the quality of the epitaxial growth.

On the diffusion length and grain size homogeneity requirements for efficient thin-film polycrystalline silicon solar cells

We examine the influence of intragrain defects and grain boundaries on the macroscopic performance of a thin film polycrystalline silicon solar cell. In addition, we evaluate the effect of grain size inhomogeneity on the cell performance via circuit simulations. From an analytical study of charge transport in individual grains and homogeneous grain systems, we obtain the grain size and intragrain diffusion length requirements for a desired efficiency. We identify the conditions under which the grain size and the intragrain diffusion length dominate the cell characteristics. In devices with intragrain effective diffusion length Lmono ⩽ 100 µm and grain boundary recombination velocity SGB ⩽ 104 cm s−1, achieving a larger grain size beyond several µm is not crucial. The inhomogeneous distribution circuit simulations show that grain size inhomogeneity is not the main limiting factor in polycrystalline silicon solar cells. This is so even in thin polycrystalline silicon films with a broad grain size distribution such as those made with aluminum-induced crystallization at low annealing temperature. The main reason is that the optimum bias point for grains of different sizes only differ by about ∼50 mV over a fairly wide grain diameter range 0.5–50 µm even when Lmono = 100 µm and SGB = 105 cm s−1.

Study on device simulation and performance optimization of the epitaxial crystalline silicon thin film solar cell

Because crystalline silicon thin film (CSiTF) solar cells possess the advantages of crystalline silicon solar cells such as high efficiency and stable performance and those of thin film solar cells such as low cost and so on, it is regarded as the next generation solar cell technology, which is most likely to replace the existing crystalline silicon solar cell technology. In this paper, we performed device simulation on the epitaxial CSiTF solar cell by using PC1D software. In order to make simulation results closer to the actual situation, we adopted a more realistic device structure and parameters. On this basis, we comprehensively and systematically investigated the effect of physical parameters of back surface field (BSF) layer, base and emitter, electrical quality of crystalline silicon active layer, situation of surface passivation, internal recombination and p-n junction leakage on the optoelectronic performance of the epitaxial CSiTF solar cell. Among various factors affecting the efficiency of the epitaxial CSiTF solar cell, we identified the three largest efficiency-affecting parameters. They are the base minority carrier diffusion length, the diode dark saturation current and the front surface recombination velocity in order. Through simulations, we found that the base is not the thicker the better, and the base minority carrier diffusion length must be taken into account when determining the optimal base thickness. When the base minority carrier diffusion length is smaller, the optimal base thickness should be less than or equal to the base minority carrier diffusion length; when the base minority carrier diffusion length is larger, the base minority carrier diffusion length should be at least twice the optimal base thickness. In addition, this paper not only illustrates the simulation results but also explains their changes from the aspect of physical mechanisms. Because epitaxial CSiTF solar cells possess a device structure that is similar to crystalline silicon solar cells, the conclusions drawn in this paper are also applied to crystalline silicon solar cells to a certain extent, particularly to thin silicon solar cells which are the hottest research topic at present.

A study of ZnO:B films for thin film silicon solar cells

Boron doped zinc oxide (ZnO:B) films with different thicknesses were prepared with low pressure chemical vapor deposition (LPCVD) technique and implemented in thin film silicon solar cells as front and back electrodes. It is found that thick back ZnO:B film electrode in thin film silicon solar cells leads to a high fill factors (FF), which is attributed to an improvement of the electrical properties of the thick ZnO:B films, and in the meanwhile a slightly low short circuit currents (Jsc) due to a high light absorption in the thick back ZnO:B films. Differently, the thicker front ZnO:B film electrodes result in a high Jsc but a low FF of solar cells compared to the thinner ones. The low FF of the solar cells may be caused by the local shunt originated from the pinholes or by the cracks (zones of non-dense material) formed in particular in microcrystalline silicon materials deposited on rough front ZnO:B films. As to the high Jsc, it is expected to be due to a good light trapping effect inside solar cells grown on rough front ZnO:B films. Moreover, the application of high reflective polyvinyl butyral (PVB) foils effectively enhances the utilization of incident light in solar cells. By optimizing deposition process of the ZnO:B films, high efficiencies of 8.8% and 10% for single junction thin film amorphous silicon solar cells (a-Si:H, intrinsic layer thickness<200nm) and amorphous/microcrystalline silicon tandem solar cells (a-Si:H/μc-Si:H, intrinsic amorphous silicon layer thickness<220nm), respectively, are achieved.

Kind of broad-band photonic valve and its application to silicon solar cells

We investigate the dual optical behaviour of a photonic grating interface presenting a more or less important index contrast, showing either efficient broadband reflectivity, either high transmittance within the same spectral window, depending on the direction of the incident light. This behaviour is reminiscent of a diode one and could find interesting applications. A typical example is given for thin crystalline silicon solar cells where the rear side is directly nano-textured to trap light without metal reflector (bifacial device), well compatible with an integration in a photovoltaic module.