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Hydrogen Passivation of Thin-film Polysilicon Solar Cells

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 February 2011

Lode Carnel
Affiliation:
[email protected], imec, mcp ssc, kapeldreef, leuven, 3001, Belgium, 003216288734
Ivan Gordon
Affiliation:
[email protected], imec, mcp ssc, kapeldreef, leuven, 3001, Belgium
Dries Van Gestel
Affiliation:
[email protected], imec, mcp ssc, kapeldreef, leuven, 3001, Belgium
Guy Beaucarne
Affiliation:
[email protected], imec, mcp ssc, kapeldreef, leuven, 3001, Belgium
Jef Poortmans
Affiliation:
[email protected], imec, mcp ssc, kapeldreef, leuven, 3001, Belgium
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Abstract

Thin-film polysilicon solar cells are a promising low-cost alternative for bulk silicon solar cells. Due to their reduced material thickness, these solar cells are less dependent on the silicon feedstock price. Until now these devices showed a worse performance compared to bulk Si solar cells due to the small grain size and the high recombination velocity at the grain boundaries. A better understanding of hydrogen passivation is therefore of crucial importance to improve the efficiency of polysilicon solar cells. In this work we characterized fine-grained polysilicon layers with a grain size of only 0.2 μm before and after passivation. Plasma hydrogenation led to a higher hydrogen concentration in the first micron of the layer than nitride passivation. The highest efficiency of 5.0 % was reached when nitride passivation was followed by plasma passivation.

Keywords

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2007

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