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Effect of c-Si1-xGex Thickness Grown by LPCVD on the Performance of Thin-Film a-Si/c-Si1-xGex/c-Si Heterojunction Solar Cells

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 June 2012

Sabina Abdul Hadi ,
Pouya Hashemi ,
Nicole DiLello ,
Ammar Nayfeh  and
Judy L. Hoyt
Sabina Abdul Hadi
Affiliation:
Microsystems Engineering, Masdar Institute of Science and Technology, P.O. Box 54224, Abu Dhabi, UAE
Pouya Hashemi
Affiliation:
Microsystems Technology Laboratories, MIT, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
Nicole DiLello
Affiliation:
Microsystems Technology Laboratories, MIT, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
Ammar Nayfeh
Affiliation:
Microsystems Engineering, Masdar Institute of Science and Technology, P.O. Box 54224, Abu Dhabi, UAE
Judy L. Hoyt
Affiliation:
Microsystems Technology Laboratories, MIT, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
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Abstract

In this paper the effect of Si1-xGex absorber layer thickness on thin film a-Si:H/crystalline-Si1-xGex/c-Si heterojunction solar cells (HIT cells) is studied by simulation and experiment. Cells with 1, 2 and 4 μm-thick epitaxial cap layers of p-type Si0.59Ge0.41 on top of 5 μm Si1-xGex graded buffer layers are fabricated and compared to study the effect of the absorber layer thickness. The results show no change in Voc (0.41V) and that Jsc increases from 17.2 to 18.1 mA/cm2 when the Si0.59Ge0.41 absorber layer thickness is increased from 1 to 4 μm. The effect of thickness on Jsc is also observed for 2 and 4 μm-thick Si and Si0.75Ge0.25 absorber layers. Experiments and simulations show that larger Ge fractions result in a higher magnitude and smaller thickness dependence of Jsc, due to the larger absorption coefficient that increases optical carrier generation in the near surface region for larger Ge contents.

Keywords

Gechemical vapor deposition (CVD) (deposition)photovoltaic
Type
Articles
Information
MRS Online Proceedings Library (OPL) , Volume 1447: Symposium V – Nanostructured and Advanced Materials for Solar-Cell Manufacturing , 2012 , mrss12-1447-v01-09
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2012

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References

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