Advances in Thin-Film Si Solar Cells by Means of SiO x Alloys

Lucia V. Mercaldo, Iurie Usatii and Paola Delli Veneri
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Lucia V. Mercaldo: Italian National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and Sustainable Economic Development (ENEA), Portici Research Center, P.le E. Fermi 1, Portici 80055, Italy
Iurie Usatii: Italian National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and Sustainable Economic Development (ENEA), Portici Research Center, P.le E. Fermi 1, Portici 80055, Italy
Paola Delli Veneri: Italian National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and Sustainable Economic Development (ENEA), Portici Research Center, P.le E. Fermi 1, Portici 80055, Italy

Energies, 2016, vol. 9, issue 3, 1-13

Abstract: The conversion efficiency of thin-film silicon solar cells needs to be improved to be competitive with respect to other technologies. For a more efficient use of light across the solar spectrum, multi-junction architectures are being considered. Light-management considerations are also crucial in order to maximize light absorption in the active regions with a minimum of parasitic optical losses in the supportive layers. Intrinsic and doped silicon oxide alloys can be advantageously applied within thin-film Si solar cells for these purposes. Intrinsic a-SiO x :H films have been fabricated and characterized as a promising wide gap absorber for application in triple-junction solar cells. Single-junction test devices with open circuit voltage up to 950 mV and ~1 V have been demonstrated, in case of rough and flat front electrodes, respectively. Doped silicon oxide alloys with mixed-phase structure have been developed, characterized by considerably lower absorption and refractive index with respect to standard Si-based films, accompanied by electrical conductivity above 10 ?5 S/cm. These layers have been successfully applied both into single-junction and micromorph tandem solar cells as superior doped layers with additional functionalities.

Keywords: solar cells; thin-film Si; silicon oxide; mixed-phase materials; plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2016
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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