P. Torres

Optical absorption and light scattering in microcrystalline silicon thin films and solar cells

Optical characterization methods were applied to a series of microcrystalline silicon thin films and solar cells deposited by the very high frequency glow discharge technique. Bulk and surface light scattering effects were analyzed. A detailed theory for evaluation of the optical absorption coefficient α from transmittance, reflectance and absorptance (with the help of constant photocurrent method) measurements in a broad spectral region is presented for the case of surface and bulk light scattering. The spectral dependence of α is interpreted in terms of defect density, disorder, crystalline/amorphous fraction and material morphology. The enhanced light absorption in microcrystalline silicon films and solar cells is mainly due to a longer optical path as the result of an efficient diffuse light scattering at the textured film surface. This light scattering effect is a key characteristic of efficient thin-film-silicon solar cells.

On the Way Towards High Efficiency Thin Film Silicon Solar Cells by the “Micromorph” Concept

Note: IMT-NE Number: 222 Reference PV-LAB-CONF-1996-008 Record created on 2009-02-10, modified on 2017-05-10

Device grade microcrystalline silicon owing to reduced oxygen contamination

As‐deposited undoped microcrystalline silicon (μc‐Si:H) has in general a pronounced n‐type behavior. Such a material is therefore often not appropriate for use in devices, such as p‐i‐n diodes, as an active, absorbing i layer or as channel material for thin‐film transistors. In recent work, on p‐i‐n solar cells, this disturbing n‐type character had been successfully compensated by the ‘‘microdoping’’ technique. In the present letter, it is shown that this n‐type behavior is mainly linked to oxygen impurities; therefore, one can replace the technologically delicate microdoping technique by a purification method, that is much easier to handle. This results in a reduction of oxygen impurities by two orders of magnitude; it has, furthermore a pronounced impact on the electrical properties of μc‐Si:H films and on device performance, as well. Additionally, these results prove that the unwanted donor‐like states within μc‐Si:H are mainly due to extrinsic impurities and not to structural native defects.

Towards high-efficiency thin-film silicon solar cells with the “micromorph” concept

Tandem solar cells with a microcrystalline silicon bottom cell (1 eV gap) and an amorphous-silicon top cell (1.7 eV gap) have recently been introduced by the authors; they were designated as “micromorph” tandem cells. As of now, stabilised efficiencies of 11.2% have been achieved for micromorph tandem cells, whereas a 10.7% cell is confirmed by ISE Freiburg. Micromorph cells show a rather low relative temperature coefficient of 0.27%/K. Applying the grain-boundary trapping model so far developed for CVD polysilicon to hydrogenated microcrystalline silicon deposited by VHF plasma, an upper limit for the average defect density of around 2 × 1016/cm3 could be deduced; this fact suggests a rather effective hydrogen passivation of the grain-boundaries. First TEM investigations on μc-Si : H p-i-n cells support earlier findings of a pronounced columnar grain structure. Using Ar dilution, deposition rates of up to 9 A/s for microcrystalline silicon could be achieved.

From amorphous to microcrystalline silicon films prepared by / hydrogen dilution using the VHF 70 MHz GD technique

Abstract The amorphous and microcrystalline silicon films have been prepared by hydrogen dilution from pure silane to silane concentrations ≥1.25%. At silane concentrations of less than 10%, a transition from the amorphous phase to the microcrystalline phase can be observed. X-ray diffraction spectroscopy indicates a preferential growth of the crystallites in the [220] direction. Additionally, the transition into the microcrystalline regime is accompanied by a shrinking of the optical gap, a reduction in hydrogen content and by a modified trend of the deposition rate. The observed changes in the infrared absorption modes indicate modifications in the hydrogen bonding and can be correlated with results known from monocrystalline silicon. Close to the transition zone, but still in the amorphous regime, the hydrogen content is increased, whereas the microstructure parameter reaches its smallest value. Precisely these films have a 0.06 eV higher optical gap and a reduced defect density by a factor of 4 as compared to a-Si:H layers prepared from pure silane.

Optical Determination of the Mass Density of Amorphous and Microcrystalline Silicon Layers with Different Hydrogen Contents

We have measured the density of amorphous and microcrystalline silicon films using an optical method. The mass density decreases with increasing hydrogen content, consistent with a hydrogenated di-vacancy model that fits the data for amorphous silicon. Material produced by hot wire assisted chemical vapour deposition, with low hydrogen content, has a higher density and is structurally different from glow discharge material with hydrogen content around 10 at.%. The lower density microcrystalline silicon seems to be porous.

Potential of VHF-Plasmas for Low-Cost Production of a-Si:H Solar Cells

Abstract Compared to the use of the standard glow discharge technique the production of amorphous silicon solar cells by the very high frequency glow discharge (VHF-GD) bears yet additional cost reduction potentials: Using VHF-GD at excitation frequencies higher than 13.56 MHz, a more efficient dissociation of silane gas is obtained; thus, higher deposition rates are achieved; this reduces considerably the deposition time for intrinsic amorphous and microcrystalline silicon layers. Furthermore, by itself and even more so, in combination with argon dilution, VHF-GD technique improves silane utilisation and leads, thus, to further cost reduction. Finally, by combining the VHF-GD technique and the “micromorph” concept “real” tandem cells (i.e. a superposition of two cells with distinctly different band gaps) can be deposited at low temperatures without the use of expensive germane gas.

Plasma deposition of thin film silicon: kinetics monitored by optical emission spectroscopy

The optical emission spectroscopy technique is used to characterise the temporal behaviour of a pure silane plasma in the first 90 s after ignition of a static closed-chamber very high frequency glow discharge. Special interest is drawn to the formation of microcrystalline silicon (mc-Si:H) in absence of any hydrogen feedstock gas dilution. The kinetics of the emission lines of SiH n and Ha is reported. The deposited films are characterised by photothermal deflection spectroscopy, Fourier transform infra red (FT-IR) absorption and show typical microcrystalline fingerprints; for the first time, such material is used as absorber layer in n–i–p type solar cell devices.

Structural properties and electronic transport in intrinsic microcrystalline silicon deposited by the VHF-GD technique

A series of microcrystalline samples was deposited by the very high frequency glow discharge (VHF-GD) technique, with various input powers while keeping all the other parameters of deposition constant. The goal was to correlate transport and structural properties and avoid as much as possible the problem of a variation of the Fermi level between the samples. The observed decrease of the photoconductivity and of the product mobility-lifetime of hole (as measured by time of flight, TOF) with the increase of the power was surprisingly not connected to the structural properties, which remain approximately unchanged, but with a surface contribution to the transport properties.

Ambipolar diffusion length and photoconductivity measurements on ‘‘midgap’’ hydrogenated microcrystalline silicon

Hydrogenated microcrystalline silicon (μc‐Si:H) deposited by VHF plasma‐enhanced chemical vapor deposition has recently been proven to be fully stable, with respect to light‐induced degradation, when adequately used in p‐i‐n solar cells. Stable solar cells efficiencies of 7.7% have been obtained with single‐junction cells, using ‘‘midgap’’ microcrystalline i‐layers, having an optical gap of around 1 eV. In the present paper, the electronic transport properties of such microcrystalline layers are determined, by the steady‐state photocarrier grating method (SSPG) and steady‐state photoconductivity measurements, in a coplanar configuration. The conditions for the validity of the procedure for determining the ambipolar diffusion length, Lamb, from SSPG measurements (as previously theoretically derived in the context of amorphous silicon) are carefully re‐examined and found to hold in these μc‐Si:H layers, taking certain additional precautions. Otherwise, e.g., the prevalence of the ‘‘lifetime’’ regime (as opp...