DEPOSITION OF MICROCRYSTALLINE SILICON MATERIALS AND SOLAR CELLS VTA THE HWCVD TECHNIQUE, USING A NEW FILAMENT MATERIAL

摘要

For the "Hot Wire" Chemical Vapor Deposition (HWCVD) technique to be a viable approach for photovoltaic applications, certain critical technical issues need to be addressed and resolved, such as filament lifetime, reproducibility, and the ability to deposit films over large areas. We have developed a new approach (patent applied for) that addresses some of these problems, specifically longevity of the filament and reproducibility of the material produced. We have also deposited intrinsic amorphous silicon films over larger area substrates (30 cm X 30 cm). We report on the deposition of microcrystalline silicon materials using the new HWCVD technique, and compare them with similar materials deposited using a conventional HWCVD technique with tantalum wire. With the new technique, it has been found possible to deposit μc-Si material that is entirely (220) oriented, with no visible (111) orientation in the XRD spectra.