Silicon heterojunction cells with improved spectral response using n-type µc-Si from a novel PECVD approach

• Published in: AIP conference proceedings 2018-08, Vol.1999 (1)
• Main Authors: Smirnov, Yury, Bearda, Twan, Radhakrishnan, Hariharsudan Sivaramakrishnan, Filipič, Miha, Cho, Jinyoun, Xu, Menglei, Jambaldinni, Shruti, Razzaq, Arsalan, Uddin, MD Gius, Van Nieuwenhuysen, Kris, Gordon, Ivan, Debucquoy, Maarten, Abdulraheem, Yaser, Vasil’evskii, Ivan, Poortmans, Jef
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 0094-243X; 1551-7616
• DOI: 10.1063/1.5049283

One of the promising ways to increase the efficiency of silicon heterojunction (SHJ) cells is to replace the doped hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) contact layer by doped hydrogenated microcrystalline silicon (µc-Si:H) which has better suited opto-electrical properties. In this work, we report on the development of a plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition process for µc-Si:H. We demonstrate an n-type µc-Si:H layer with high crystalline fraction and low parasitic absorption. The developed layer is implemented as the front electron contact of a SHJ cell. A significant improvement in Jsc of 0.9 mA/cm2 is achieved on device level while maintaining high VOC values (>725 mV), leading to an efficiency of 20.6% for the best cell. Cell efficiency is limited by a decreased FF which is attributed to the increased sensitivity of µc-Si:H layers to ITO sputtering damage.