Effect of amorphous Si capping layer on the hole transport properties of BaSi2 and improved conversion efficiency approaching 10% in p-BaSi2/n-Si solar cells

We investigated the effect of a 3-nm-thick amorphous Si (a-Si) capping layer on the hole transport properties of BaSi2 films. The contact resistance decreased with decreasing resistivity of p-BaSi2 and reached a minimum of 0.35 Ω·cm2. The effect of the a-Si layer was confirmed by higher photorespons...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Applied physics letters 2016-08, Vol.109 (7)
Main Authors: Yachi, Suguru, Takabe, Ryota, Takeuchi, Hiroki, Toko, Kaoru, Suemasu, Takashi
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Amorphous silicon
Applied physics
Barium compounds
Capping
Contact resistance
Disilicides
Energy conversion efficiency
Intermetallic compounds
Minority carriers
Photovoltaic cells
Silicides
Silicon wafers
Solar cells
Transport properties
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Summary:We investigated the effect of a 3-nm-thick amorphous Si (a-Si) capping layer on the hole transport properties of BaSi2 films. The contact resistance decreased with decreasing resistivity of p-BaSi2 and reached a minimum of 0.35 Ω·cm2. The effect of the a-Si layer was confirmed by higher photoresponsivities for n-BaSi2 films capped with the a-Si layer than for those without the a-Si layer, showing that the minority carriers (holes) were extracted efficiently across the a-Si/n-BaSi2 interface. Under AM1.5 illumination, the conversion efficiency reached 9.9% in a-Si(3 nm)/p-BaSi2(20 nm)/n-Si solar cells, the highest value ever reported for semiconducting silicides.
ISSN:0003-6951
1077-3118
DOI:10.1063/1.4961309