Shinya Tsuda

Development of New a-Si/c-Si Heterojunction Solar Cells: ACJ-HIT (Artificially Constructed Junction-Heterojunction with Intrinsic Thin-Layer)

A new type of a-Si/c-Si heterojunction solar cell, called the HIT (Heterojunction with Intrinsic Thin-layer) solar cell, has been developed based on ACJ (Artificially Constructed Junction) technology. A conversion efficiency of more than 18% has been achieved, which is the highest ever value for solar cells in which the junction was fabricated at a low temperature (<200°C).

Interference-Free Determination of the Optical Absorption Coefficient and the Optical Gap of Amorphous Silicon Thin Films

A new method to determine the optical absorption coefficient (α) of thin films is presented. α of hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) based alloys can be accurately determined from transmittance (T) and reflectance (R) by using T/(1-R), which almost completely eliminates disturbance from the optical interference effect. The method is applicable to any thin films, as long as the film is a single layer. Based on the interference-free α, various methods to determine the optical gap (EOPT) of a-Si:H, a-SiC:H, and a-SiGe:H films are discussed. The (nαhν)1/3 plot and the (αhν)1/3 plot are most suitable for characterizing these films. The well-known (αhν)1/2 plot is less suited for detailed discussion of the EOPT than the cube root plot, because the plot includes a large ambiguity in the EOPT. The effect of the optical interference effect on the determination of the EOPT is also discussed.

High-quality polycrystalline silicon thin film prepared by a solid phase crystallization method

Abstract We succeeded in fabricating high-quality polycrystalline silicon (poly-Si) thin films with no boundary from the bottom surface to the top, and achieved an extremely high electron mobility of 808 cm2/V s by a solid phase crystallization (SPC) method. This film was obtained by using a new nucleation layer with 1000 A wide single-crystalline grains embedded in a matrix of amorphous tissue. A poly-Si thin-film solar cell fabricated using this film as an active layer demonstrated a total area conversion efficiency of 9.2% (active area efficiency: 9.7%), which is the worlds highest value for crystalline silicon solar cells fabricated below 600°C on metal substrates.

Enlargement of Poly-Si Film Grain Size by Excimer Laser Annealing and Its Application to High-Performance Poly-Si Thin Film Transistor

By both numerical simulation and experimental investigation, we found it possible to enlarge the grain size (?3000 ?) of polycrystalline silicon (poly-Si) films by excimer laser annealing, using a new method to control the solidification process of molten Si - low-temperature (?400?C) substrate heating during laser annealing. Poly-Si thin-film transistors (TFTs) fabricated by this new excimer laser annealing method showed a high field-effect mobility of 230 cm2/V?s, and good uniformity of field-effect mobility (?10%) within the effective laser irradiation area.

Lateral Grain Growth of Poly-Si Films with a Specific Orientation by an Excimer Laser Annealing Method

Dramatic lateral grain growth of nondoped poly-Si films (maximum grain size: ~4.5 µm, film thickness: 500 A) with strong crystallographic (111) orientation on glass substrates has been achieved using an excimer laser annealing method, namely at low temperature below 400°C and in a processing time shorter than a second, for the first time. The surface morphology of these poly-Si films was very smooth and the crystallinity was excellent with minimal internal defects. These poly-Si films have monomodally distributed grain sizes, with an average grain size of around 1.5 µm. As a result of experimental study, we speculate that the basic driving force behind this lateral grain growth was surface free energy anisotropy, as the same mechanism was observed in high-temperature furnace annealing of doped poly-Si thin films.

Comprehensive study of lateral grain growth in poly-Si films by excimer laser annealing and its application to thin film transistors

Lateral grain growth in nondoped poly-Si films was studied by using Si thin films (500 A) with different structures as a starting material for excimer laser crystallization. It was clarified that the lateral grain growth phenomenon (micron-size grains with strong (111) orientation) upon excimer laser annealing was strongly affected by both the microstructure and the orientation of the initial Si thin films. This result supports our previous speculation that the principal driving force of the lateral grain growth phenomenon is surface energy anisotropy. Poly-Si thin-film transistors using these films show a high field effect mobility of 440 cm2/Vs, achieved through a low-temperature process below 600° C. This excellent electrical characteristic is thought to be due to the large grain size of poly-Si thin film with controlled orientation, good crystallinity, and a smooth surface.

The Influence of the Si-H2 Bond on the Light-Induced Effect in a-Si Films and a-Si Solar Cells

The influence of the Si-H2 bond on light-induced degradation and the thermal recovery of a-Si films and a-Si solar cells were studied. The influence of the Si-H2 bond on light-induced degradation depends on the impurity content in a-Si films, and light-induced degradation can be reduced by decreasing the Si-H2 bond density in a-Si films with impurity content of 1018 cm-3. The activation energy of the thermal recovery process was about 1.0 eV, and it did not depend on the Si-H2 bond density. However, an irreversible phenomenon was observed in film properties and solar cell characteristics with high Si-H2 bond density. It is thought that the structural flexibility of the Si-H2 bond is related to this irreversible phenomenon.

High mobility poly-Si TFT by a new excimer laser annealing method for large area electronics

A high-mobility (280 cm/sup 2//V-s), high-throughput poly-Si TFT (thin-film transistor) formed using a low-temperature process (<or= 600 degrees C) has been achieved through a novel excimer laser annealing method. The method uses thin, active-layer poly-Si film (500 AA) and involves controlling the solidification process of molten Si by low-temperature (<or= 400 degrees C) substrate heating during laser annealing. Poly-Si film grain formed by this process is radically larger in size, and has minimal internal defects. The maximum grain size is over 5000 AA, and uniformity in field effect mobility was found to be +or-10% within the effective laser irradiation area.<<ETX>>

Improvement of n-Type Poly-Si Film Properties by Solid Phase Crystallization Method

Polycrystalline silicon (poly-Si) thin films prepared by the solid phase crystallization (SPC) method were investigated for application as photovoltaic materials. To improve the properties of the poly-Si thin film, two methods were developed to control crystallization. One is the partial doping method, in which starting material of a-Si consists of a doped layer and an undoped layer. We have succeeded in controlling nuclei generation using partial doping, and high mobility of 196 cm2/Vs was obtained at a carrier concentration of 1×1018 cm-3. SPC temperature can also be decreased to 500°C. The other is adoption, for the first time, of a textured substrate which exerted effects on the enlargement of grain size in poly-Si thin films prepared by the SPC method. By combining the partial doping method with the textured substrate, an n-type poly-Si thin-film with the grain size of 6 µm was fabricated which showed the Hall mobility of 623 cm2/Vs (n: 3.0\times1015 cm-3). In a solar cell (thickness: 12 µm) applying this film, a conversion efficiency of 6.2% was obtained and a collection efficiency of 50% was achieved at a wavelength of 900 nm.

New Interpretation of the Effect of Hydrogen Dilution of Silane on Glow-Discharged Hydrogenated Amorphous Silicon for Stable Solar Cells

The effect of hydrogen dilution on glow-discharged hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) is investigated at substrate temperatures of 100?200? C. The dependence of the properties of a-Si:H on the hydrogen dilution ratio ? (?=[ H2 gas flow rate]/[ SiH4 gas flow rate]) can be explained in terms of two different effects: i.e., decrease of the film deposition rate at a low ? and implantation of hydrogen atoms into a-Si:H during and after film deposition at a high ?. The latter effect, which is similar to that of hydrogen plasma post-treatment, increases the hydrogen content (C H) and optical gap (E opt) of a-Si:H with no significant deterioration in photoconductivity or SiH2/SiH ratio estimated from infrared absorption. It is found that the electric conductivity and defect density of a-Si:H, both in the annealed state and light-soaked state, have a better correlation with the hydrogen content with SiH2 bond configurations (C SiH2 ) than with C H or E opt. A conversion efficiency of 8.8% is achieved after light soaking (1.25 sun, AM-1.5, 48? C, open load, 310 h) for a single-junction a-Si:H solar cell using an a-Si:H i-layer with reduced C SiH2 .