Evaporated erbium oxide as an antireflective layer for c-Si solar cells

摘要

We report on the optical properties of erbium oxide thin films prepared by physical vapor deposition. The films were subjected to various rapid thermal annealing (RTA) treatments. The best result was obtained for samples annealed at 500 °C, where the ramp rate was 200 °C/s, zero soak time, and a cooling rate of 25 °C/s. The average reflection from this erbium oxide coated c-Si substrate, measured over a wavelength range of 300nm to 1100nm, is around 18% and 8% before and after annealing, respectively. The average transmission of erbium oxide on glass is 50 % and 90 % before and after annealing, respectively. Using this antireflection coating the short circuit current of a silicon base photovoltaic device increases by more than 40 %.