Microcrystalline silicon oxide (μc-SiO _x:H) alloys: A versatile material for application in thin film silicon single and tandem junction solar cells (Conference Paper)

摘要

We report on the development and application of n-type hydrogenated microcrystalline silicon oxide (μc-SiO _x:H) alloys in single and tandem junction thin film silicon solar cells. Single junction microcrystalline silicon (μc-Si:H) solar cells are prepared in n-i-p deposition sequence where n-type μc-SiO _x:H films serve as window layers. In tandem solar cells, μc-SiO _x:H layers are placed between amorphous (a-Si:H) and μc-Si:H component cells, serving as an intermediate reflector. The requirements for μc-SiO _x:H layer depending on its application are discussed. Our results show that the optical, electrical and structural properties of μc-SiO _x:H can be conveniently tuned over a wide range to fulfil various requirements for applications in both types of cells. Additionally, the properties of μc-SiO _x:H layers appear to be substrate dependent, which should be taken into account when layers are utilized in cells. The advantages of low refractive index and high optical band gap allow to achieve high efficiencies of 9.2% and 12.6% for single junction and tandem solar cells, respectively.