Large-grain polysilicon seed layers on glass for epitaxial silicon solar cells

Thin-film silicon solar cells remain a promising technology to approach wafer-based efficiencies at thin-film costs. Epitaxial growth of silicon cells on seed layers has been a prominent approach with demonstrated efficiencies. However, cost-effective seed layers on glass or other low-cost substrate...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Shumate, Seth D., Mohammed, Hafeezuddin, Hutchings, Douglas A., Naseem, H. A.
Format: Conference Proceeding
Language:English
Subjects:
Abstracts
Epitaxial growth
Glass
HOT WIRE CVD
Image edge detection
Indexes
INSULATOR
POLYSILICON
Silicon
THIN-FILM SILICON
Wires
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Description
Summary:Thin-film silicon solar cells remain a promising technology to approach wafer-based efficiencies at thin-film costs. Epitaxial growth of silicon cells on seed layers has been a prominent approach with demonstrated efficiencies. However, cost-effective seed layers on glass or other low-cost substrates still remain one of the biggest road blocks to the success of this technology. Top-down aluminum induced crystallization (TAIC) has been developed to produce large-grain silicon seed layers on glass. Initial cells have been fabricated by Hot-Wire CVD at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). The seed layers with grain-gaps show poor electrical characteristics comparable to reported cells grown on wafer templates with defect densities around 2 × 10 6 cm -3 . New seed layers without grain gaps have been developed and are in queue for cell fabrication.
ISSN:0160-8371
DOI:10.1109/PVSC.2012.6317639