Gaetano Parascandolo

On the Interplay Between Microstructure and Interfaces in High-Efficiency Microcrystalline Silicon Solar Cells

This paper gives new insights into the role of both the microstructure and the interfaces in microcrystalline silicon (μc-Si) single-junction solar cells. A 3-D tomographic reconstruction of a μc-Si solar cell reveals the 2-D nature of the porous zones, which can be present within the absorber layer. Tomography thus appears as a valuable technique to provide insights into the μc-Si microstructure. Variable illumination measurements enable to study the negative impact of such porous zones on solar cells performance. The influence of such defective material can be mitigated by suitable cell design, as discussed here. Finally, a hydrogen plasma cell post-deposition treatment is demonstrated to improve solar cells performance, especially on rough superstrates, enabling us to reach an outstanding 10.9% efficiency microcrystalline single-junction solar cell.

Limiting factors in the fabrication of microcrystalline silicon solar cells and microcrystalline/amorphous (‘micromorph’) tandems

This contribution presents the status of amorphous and microcrystalline silicon solar cells on glass, and discusses some material/fabrication factors that presently limit their conversion efficiency. Particular attention is focused on recent results and developments at the Institute of Microtechnology (IMT) in Neuchâtel. The performances and stability of microcrystalline silicon single-junction and amorphous/microcrystalline (‘micromorph’) tandem solar cells are discussed, as a function of material properties. Recent results on the electrical effect of cracks in microcrystalline silicon material are presented. Degradation under the effect of illumination is a well-known limiting factor for amorphous silicon solar cells. As a comparison, studies on the stability of microcrystalline silicon with respect to light-induced degradation are commented upon. The importance of transparent contacts and anti-reflection layers for achieving low electrical and optical losses is discussed. Finally, efforts towards industrialization of micromorph tandem solar cells are highlighted, specifically (i) the development and implementation of an in situ intermediate reflector in a large-area industrial deposition system, and (ii) recent achievements in increasing the growth rate of microcrystalline silicon.

Optimization of the Asymmetric Intermediate Reflector Morphology for High Stabilized Efficiency Thin n-i-p Micromorph Solar Cells

This paper focuses on our latest progress in n-i-p thin-micromorph solar-cell fabrication using textured back reflectors and asymmetric intermediate reflectors, both deposited by low-pressure chemical vapor deposition of zinc oxide. We then present microcrystalline bottom cells with high crystallinity, which yield excellent long wavelength response for relatively thin absorber thickness. In a 1.5-μm-thick μc-Si:H single-junction n-i-p solar cell, we thus obtain a short-circuit current density of 25.9 mA·cm-2, resulting in an initial cell efficiency of 9.1%. Subsequently, the roughness of the intermediate reflector layer is adapted for the growth of high-performance amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) top cells. Combining bottom cells with high current, an optimal intermediate reflector morphology and a 0.22-μm-thick a-Si:H top cell, we reach high initial open-circuit voltages of 1.45 V, and we obtain a stabilized cell with an efficiency of 11.1%, which is our best stable efficiency for n-i-p solar cells.

Light harvesting schemes for high efficiency thin film silicon solar cells

In Thin Film Silicon (TF-Si) solar cells light harvesting schemes must guarantee an efficient light trapping in the thin absorber layers without decreasing the silicon layers quality and consecutively the p-i-n diodes electrical performance. TF-Si solar cells resilience to the substrate roughness is reported to be possibly improved through optimizations of the cell design and of the silicon deposition processes. By further tailoring the superstrate texture, amorphous silicon / microcrystalline silicon (a-Si:H/μc-Si:H) tandem solar cells with an initial efficiency up to 13.7 % and a stabilized efficiency up to 11.8 % are demonstrated on single-scale textured superstrates. An alternative approach combining large and smooth features nanoimprinted onto a transparent lacquer with small and sharp textures from as-grown LPCVD ZnO is then shown to have a high potential for further increasing TF-Si devices efficiency. First results demonstrate up to 14.1 % initial efficiency for a TF-Si tandem solar cell.

High rate deposition of microcrystalline silicon with silicon oxide doped layers: Highlighting the competing roles of both intrinsic and extrinsinc defects on the cells performances

Hydrogenated microcrystalline silicon (μc-Si:H) has become a material of increasing interest these last years mainly for its use in cost-effective production of tandem and triple junction thin film silicon based solar cells. Lately, the use of novel doped silicon oxide (SiOx) layers were shown to be very promising for increasing the solar cells efficiency [1,2]. We present in this study a detailed analysis on the possible reasons behind this significant increase of electrical performances. Complete solar cells were developed in an industrial type reactor with their intrinsic layer (i-layer) deposited at a high growth rate of 1 nm/s by VHF-PECVD. Different i-layer material quality and substrate roughness were systematically evaluated during this investigation. We demonstrate conversion efficiency increase of up to 29% when both these p-type and n-type doped SiOx layers are used instead of the regular microcrystalline ones, while keeping the bulk of intrinsic material unchanged and efficiencies over 8% are achieved for a wider range of plasma parameters and substrate roughness. Extensive material analysis is presented hereafter to understand the physical origins for the improvements observed. XRD, Raman and FTIR spectroscopy, intrinsic stress, FTPS and SIMS measurements were done along with SEM images of the solar cells. It is found that devices with very different efficiencies can lead to similar FTIR and FTPS spectrum. We show that the integration of doped SiOx layers reduces to some extent the influence of porous regions, i.e. microcracks, on the electrical properties of the solar cells, and the possible physical reasons for this improvement are discussed. The development of these extrinsic defects, not detected by FTPS and FTIR, is becoming especially detrimental on highly textured substrates, required for increased light trapping. This highlights the fundamental nature difference of intrinsic and extrinsic defects which can both drive the cells performances.

Micromorph Cells Grown at High Rate With In-Situ Intermediate Reflector in Industrial KAI PECVD Reactors

We report on results of tandem amorphous/microcrystalline (a-Si:H/μc-Si:H) silicon solar cells developed in commercial Oerlikon Solar KAI PECVD reactors, at an excitation frequency of 40.68 MHz. The cell structure consists of a stack of glass/front contact/pin a- Si:H/intermediate reflector/pin μc- Si:H/back contact. LPCVD (low-pressure chemical vapor deposition) ZnO (zinc oxide) is applied as front and back transparent conductive contacts. The silicon oxide based intermediate reflector (SOIR) is deposited in-situ. Two regimes are studied here for μc-Si:H: (i) low silane concentration (SC) regime with SC 1cm2 and in-situ SOIR. Under high SC conditions, the highest initial efficiency reached so far is 10.5%, again with in- situ SOIR. We demonstrate that high efficiency micromorph solar cells can hence be fabricated under conditions that are highly favorable to low-cost fabrication of tandem modules at an industrial level. Further investigations are now focused on the improvement of μc-Si:H material at 1 nm/s.