n-i-p Nanocrystalline Hydrogenated Silicon Solar Cells with RF-Magnetron Sputtered Absorbers

Adhikari, Dipendra; Junda, Maxwell M.; Grice, Corey R.; Marsillac, Sylvain X.; Collins, Robert W.; Podraza, Nikolas J.

doi:10.3390/ma12101699

Open AccessArticle

n-i-p Nanocrystalline Hydrogenated Silicon Solar Cells with RF-Magnetron Sputtered Absorbers

by

Dipendra Adhikari

¹

,

Maxwell M. Junda

¹,

Corey R. Grice

¹,

Sylvain X. Marsillac

²

,

Robert W. Collins

¹ and

Nikolas J. Podraza

^1,*

¹

Department of Physics & Astronomy and The Wright Center for Photovoltaics Innovation & Commercialization, University of Toledo, Toledo, OH 43606, USA

²

Virginia Institute of Photovoltaics, Old Dominion University, Norfolk, VA 23529, USA

^*

Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

Materials 2019, 12(10), 1699; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma12101699

Submission received: 25 April 2019 / Revised: 10 May 2019 / Accepted: 21 May 2019 / Published: 25 May 2019

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Materials for Photovoltaic Applications)

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Abstract

Nanocrystalline hydrogenated silicon (nc-Si:H) substrate configuration n-i-p solar cells have been fabricated on soda lime glass substrates with active absorber layers prepared by plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) and radio frequency magnetron sputtering. The cells with nanocrystalline PECVD absorbers and an untextured back reflector serve as a baseline for comparison and have power conversion efficiency near 6%. By comparison, cells with sputtered absorbers achieved efficiencies of about 1%. Simulations of external quantum efficiency (EQE) are compared to experimental EQE to determine a carrier collection probability gradient with depth for the device with the sputtered i-layer absorber. This incomplete collection of carriers generated in the absorber is most pronounced in material near the n/i interface and is attributed to breaking vacuum between deposition of layers for the sputtered absorbers, possible low electronic quality of the nc-Si:H sputtered absorber, and damage at the n/i interface by over-deposition of the sputtered i-layer during device fabrication.

Keywords: Hydrogenated nanocrystalline silicon; Real time spectroscopic ellipsometry; Dielectric function; RF-sputtering; PECVD; nc-Si:H n-i-p solar cell

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MDPI and ACS Style

Adhikari, D.; Junda, M.M.; Grice, C.R.; Marsillac, S.X.; Collins, R.W.; Podraza, N.J. n-i-p Nanocrystalline Hydrogenated Silicon Solar Cells with RF-Magnetron Sputtered Absorbers. Materials 2019, 12, 1699. https://doi.org/10.3390/ma12101699

AMA Style

Adhikari D, Junda MM, Grice CR, Marsillac SX, Collins RW, Podraza NJ. n-i-p Nanocrystalline Hydrogenated Silicon Solar Cells with RF-Magnetron Sputtered Absorbers. Materials. 2019; 12(10):1699. https://doi.org/10.3390/ma12101699

Chicago/Turabian Style

Adhikari, Dipendra, Maxwell M. Junda, Corey R. Grice, Sylvain X. Marsillac, Robert W. Collins, and Nikolas J. Podraza. 2019. "n-i-p Nanocrystalline Hydrogenated Silicon Solar Cells with RF-Magnetron Sputtered Absorbers" Materials 12, no. 10: 1699. https://doi.org/10.3390/ma12101699

APA Style

Adhikari, D., Junda, M. M., Grice, C. R., Marsillac, S. X., Collins, R. W., & Podraza, N. J. (2019). n-i-p Nanocrystalline Hydrogenated Silicon Solar Cells with RF-Magnetron Sputtered Absorbers. Materials, 12(10), 1699. https://doi.org/10.3390/ma12101699

Note that from the first issue of 2016, this journal uses article numbers instead of page numbers. See further details here.

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n-i-p Nanocrystalline Hydrogenated Silicon Solar Cells with RF-Magnetron Sputtered Absorbers

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