Origin of the Improved Performance of High-Deposition-Rate Microcrystalline Silicon Solar Cells by High-Pressure Glow Discharge

概要

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We have demonstrated that a high-pressure process in SiH4-H2 glow discharge provides highly efficient (${\sim}8$%) microcrystalline silicon ($\mu$c-Si:H) $p$-$i$-$n$ solar cells at $i$ layer deposition rates of 2–3 nm/s. In such a high-deposition-rate regime, we observed a remarkable improvement in visible-infrared responses upon increasing deposition pressure (up to 7–8 Torr), yielding high short circuit current. Transmission electron microscopy and secondary ion mass spectroscopy studies reveal that the high-pressure process provides denser grain columns coalesced with [110]-oriented crystallites, whereas samples prepared at lower pressure comprise many grain boundaries due to disordered grain growth, which induces atmospheric impurity diffusion in large concentrations. Reduction in post-oxidation associated with the denser microstructure of high-pressure-grown $\mu$c-Si:H is responsible for the excellent charge collection behavior in $p$-$i$-$n$ structures.
Japan Society of Applied Physicsの論文
2003-08-01