硅表面钝化及对异质结太阳电池特性的影响

研究了不同的晶体硅表面钝化方法,测试分析了硅片的少数载流子寿命以及对晶体硅/非晶硅异质结(HIT)太阳电池性能的影响。发现适当时间的HF溶液处理、氢等离子体处理和表面覆盖约3nm的本征非晶硅层能有效提高硅片的少子寿命,从而提高HIT太阳电池的开路电压。对电池制备工艺综合优化后,得到了基于n型晶体硅的光电转换效率为16.75%(Voc=0.596V,Jsc=41.605mA/cm2,FF=0.676,AM1.5,25℃)的HIT太阳电池。     

A comparison of nitrous oxide and hydrogen ECR plasma discharges for silicon solar cell passivation

The passivation of crystalline Si solar cells using nitrous oxide (N₂O) electron cyclotron resonance (ECR) plasma discharges has been studied and compared with ECR hydrogen passivation. The cells consisted of ECRCVD grown microcrystalline Si emitter layers on single crystal Si (sc-Si) and multicrystalline Si (mc-Si) substrates, without anti-reflective coatings or surface texturing. For cells on sc-Si substrates, hydrogen passivation is more effective at a substrate temperature of 300 °C and low microwave power (300 W). With increased power (500 W) H₂ is less effective than N₂O due to hydrogen plasma damage leading to a significant fall in the cell fill factor. In comparison with H₂, N₂O discharges lead to a significantly better (by > a factor of 2) improvement in the performance of cells on mc-Si substrates for treatment times of ≤15 min at a passivation temperature of 300 °C and 300 W microwave power. XPS measurements suggest that a surface oxide layer containing N and C atoms is formed by the N₂O plasma which, most likely, reduces the surface state density and, hence, carrier recombination.     

Nickel silicide contact for silicon solar cells

Electroless nickel metallization on textured front surface is carried out to fabricate large area (13%) efficient silicon solar cells. It is established through XPS analysis that NiSi is formed at the front grid contact on the texturized surface at relatively low temperature leading to a low value of series resistance of the solar cells.     

Efficiency improvement of multicrystalline silicon solar cells after surface and grain boundaries passivation using vanadium oxide

The aim of this work is to investigate the effect of vanadium oxide deposition onto the front surface of multicrystalline silicon (mc-Si) substrat, without any additional cost in the fabrication process and leading to an efficient surface and grain boundaries (GBs) passivation that have not been reported before. The lowest reflectance of mc-Si coated with vanadium oxide film of 9% was achieved by annealing the deposited film at 600 °C. Vanadium pentoxide (V₂O₅) were thermally evaporated onto the surface of mc-Si substrates, followed by a short annealing duration at a temperature ranging between 600 °C and 800 °C, under O₂ atmosphere. The chemical composition of the films was analyzed by means of Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). Surface and cross-section morphology were determined by atomic force microscope (AFM) and a scanning electron microscope (SEM), respectively. The deposited vanadium oxide thin films make the possibility of combining in one processing step an antireflection coating deposition along with efficient surface state passivation, as compared to a reference wafer. Silicon solar cells based on untreated and treated mc-Si wafers were achieved. We showed that mc-silicon solar cells, subjected to the above treatment, have better short circuit currents and open-circuit voltages than those made from untreated wafers. Thus, the efficiency of obtained solar cells has been improved.     

Room temperature synthesis of nanocrystalline silicon by aluminium induced crystallization for solar cell applications

The aim of this study is to synthesis large area, plastic compatible of p-type nanocrystalline silicon through conventional sputter system. The growth of and p-type doping of nanocrystalline silicon onto plastic substrates using D.C. magnetron sputtering was investigated. The film properties were examined by Raman spectroscopy, X-ray Diffraction, scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive spectrometry. Nanocrystalline silicon was achieved with careful control of ion bombardment energy. Through a narrow experimental, window room temperature, nanocrystalline silicon can be synthesised on aluminium. It is believed the aluminium reduces the required energy for crystallite nucleation. PN junction was formed through sputtering of Al/Al-Si/n-type Si/AZO structure. The I-V characteristic showed good rectifying behaviour and confirms p-type doping via aluminium induced crystallization.     

Fabrication of large area high density, ultra-low reflection silicon nanowire arrays for efficient solar cell applications

High density vertically aligned and high aspect ratio silicon nanowire (SiNW) arrays have been fabricated on a Si substrate using a template and a catalytic etching process. The template was formed from polystyrene (PS) nanospheres with diameter 30–50 nm and density 10¹⁰/cm², produced by nanophase separation of PS-containing block-copolymers. The length of the SiNWs was controlled by varying the etching time with an etching rate of 12.5 nm/s. The SiNWs have a biomimetic structure with a high aspect ratio (∼100), high density, and exhibit ultra-low reflectance. An ultra-low reflectance of approximately 0.1% was achieved for SiNWs longer than 750 nm. Well-aligned SiNW/poly(3,4-ethylenedioxy-thiophene):poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) heterojunction solar cells were fabricated. The n-type silicon nanowire surfaces adhered to PEDOT:PSS to form a core-sheath heterojunction structure through a simple and efficient solution process. The large surface area of the SiNWs ensured efficient collection of photogenerated carriers. Compared to planar cells without the nanowire structure, the SiNW/PEDOT:PSS heterojunction solar cell exhibited an increase in short-circuit current density from 2.35 mA/cm² to 21.1 mA/cm² and improvement in power conversion efficiency from 0.4% to 5.7%.      

空芯光纤硅太阳能电池制备及光捕获研究

本文提出一种空芯光纤结构硅基太阳能电池,并探讨其制备方法和光捕获性能.依据平面电池受光原理和空芯波导的限光机制提出了空芯光纤硅基太阳能电池结构,采用卷曲柔性平面非晶硅薄膜电池制备出圆筒形空芯光纤硅电池.通过对比研究入射光量一定的条件下平面电池和空芯光纤电池的光生电流和电压值,评估空芯光纤电池的光捕获效果.通过测量不同光入射角度和光照强度下空芯光纤电池的光生电流和电压值,揭示光入射角度和光照强度对空芯光纤电池光捕获性能的影响关系.研究表明,空芯光纤硅基电池能将入射光线限制在波导结构内反复吸收和反射,从而在光捕获性能方面较平面电池有所提升(~19.8%).光线入射角度对空芯光纤电池的光捕获性能有较大影响,在30°~50°入射时可以获得较大的光生电压和电流值.在0~100 000 lux的光照强度范围内,光生电压先随光照度增加而增大,而后逐渐趋于恒定值.通过卷曲柔性平面硅电池获得光捕获效率较高的空芯光纤硅电池是可行的,采用结构简单、光线单次入射吸收较低的单节薄膜电池制备空芯光纤电池有望获得更好的光捕获效率提升效果.     

Two-dimensional layered material/silicon heterojunctions for energy and optoelectronic applications

As one of the most important semiconductor materials, silicon (Si) has been widely used in current energy and optoelectronic devices, such as solar cells and photodetectors. However, the traditional Si p–n junction solar cells need complicated fabrication processes, leading to the high cost of Si photovoltaic devices. The wide applications of Si-based photodetectors are also hampered by their low sensitivity to ultraviolet and infrared light. Recently, two-dimensional (2D) layered materials have emerged as a new material system with tremendous potential for future energy and optoelectronic applications. The combination of Si with 2D layered materials represents an innovative approach to construct high-performance optoelectronic devices by harnessing the complementary advantages of both materials. In this review, we summarize the recent advances in 2D layered material/Si heterojunctions and their applications in photovoltaic and optoelectronic devices. Finally, the outlook and challenges of 2D layered material/Si heterojunctions for high-performance device applications are presented.

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熔析结晶法提纯硅工艺研究进展

随着光伏产业的快速发展,对太阳能级硅原材料的需求不断增加。熔析结晶法作为一种冶金硅提纯的新工艺越来越受到重视。熔析结晶法是利用冶金硅中杂质元素的偏析行为,选择适当的熔析介质,使杂质元素从冶金硅中偏析到熔析介质中,进而获得高纯硅的方法。详细介绍了Al-Si、Sn-Si、Cu-Si、Fe-Si和Ca-Si等熔析体系对冶金硅提纯的研究现状,比较了各种介质体系的优缺点。同时针对熔析结晶法提纯硅存在的问题提出了一些建议。     

Role of majority and minority carrier barriers silicon/organic hybrid heterojunction solar cells

A hybrid approach to solar cells is demonstrated in which a silicon p-n junction, used in conventional silicon-based photovoltaics, is replaced by a room-temperature fabricated silicon/organic heterojunction. The unique advantage of silicon/organic heterojunction is that it exploits the cost advantage of organic semiconductors and the performance advantages of silicon to enable potentially low-cost, efficient solar cells.     

Rapid processing of low-cost, high-efficiency silicon solar cells

Rapid and potentially low-cost processing techniques are analyzed and applied toward the fabrication of high-efficiency Si solar cells. (i) A technology that can simultaneously form the phosphorus emitter, boron BSF, andin situ oxide in a single high-temperature furnace step or: simultaneously diffused, textured, and AR coated process (STAR) is presented. (ii) A high quality screen-printed (SP) contact methodology is developed that results in fill factors of 0·785–0·790 on monocrystalline Si. (iii) Aluminum back surface field (Al-BSF) formation is studied in detail to establish the process conditions that result in optimal BSF action. (iv) Screen-printing of Al conductor paste and rapid thermal processing (RTP) are integrated into the BSF procedure, and effective recombination velocities (S _eff) as low as 200 cm/s are demonstrated on 2·3 Ω-cm Si with this rapid thermal processing of screen-printed contacts, Al alloyed BSF processes. (v) A novel passivation scheme consisting of a dielectric stack (plasma silicon nitride on top of a rapid thermal oxide) is developed to reduce the surface recombination velocity (S) to ≈ 10 cm/s at the 1·3 Ω-cm Si surface. The important feature of this stack passivation scheme is its ability to withstand a high-temperature anneal (700–850°C) without degradation in surface recombination velocity. This feature is critical for most current commercial processes that utilize SP contact firing. (vi) Finally, the individual processes are integrated to form high-efficiency, manufacturable devices. Solar cell efficiencies of 17% and >19% are achieved on FZ Si with SP and evaporated (photolithography) contacts, respectively.     

Effects of RF power and pressure on performance of HF-PECVD silicon thin-film solar cells

High-frequency plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (HF-PECVD) is a widely applicable method of deposition over a large area at a high rate for fabricating silicon thin-film solar cells. This investigation presents the properties of hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) films and the preparation of highly-efficient p-i-n solar cells using an RF (27.1 MHz) excitation frequency. The influence of the power (10-40 W) and pressure (20-50 Pa) used during the deposition of absorber layers in p-i-n solar cells on the properties and mechanism of growth of the a-Si:H thin films and the solar cells is studied. The a-Si:H thin films prepared under various deposition conditions have widely varying deposition rates, optical-electronic properties and microstructures. When the deposition parameters were optimized, amorphous silicon-based thin-film silicon solar cells with efficiency of 7.6% were fabricated by HF-PECVD. These results are very encouraging for the future fabrication of highly-efficient thin-film solar cells by HF-PECVD.     

溅射法低温生长纳米硅薄膜及异质结电池

用射频溅射法在P型硅衬底上生长了纳米硅薄膜,衬底温度控制在100℃左右,工作气体选用H2 Ar,氢气的分压控制在31%到73%,同时改变薄膜的沉积时间.用Raman、XRD、AFM、SEM 及椭偏仪对薄膜的特性进行了测定.XRD的测试结果表明,样品中存在一种微结构,不同于用PECVD方法生长的薄膜.椭偏仪的测试结果给出这种薄膜具有宽带隙.在室温条件下对异质结薄膜电池的I-V特性进行了测量.     

用化学腐蚀制备多孔硅太阳电池减反射膜的研究

采用HF HNO3溶液化学腐蚀 ,在硅片上制备减反射效果优良的多孔硅太阳电池减反射膜 ,借助原子力显微镜 (AFM)和X光电子谱 (XPS)对其表面形貌和成分进行观察 ,发现该膜与电化学阳极腐蚀得到的多孔硅具有相似性 ,其主要成分为非化学配比的硅的氧化物SiOx(X <2 )。采用带积分球的光度分光计 ,测得形成多孔硅减反射膜后 ,硅片表面反射率大大下降 ,,在波长 330～ 80 0nm范围反射率只有 1 5～ 2 9%。研究指出这种强减反射作用 ,与多孔硅具有合适的折射率及其多孔特性的光陷阱作用有关     

Hot-wire chemical vapor deposition of high hydrogen content silicon nitride for solar cell passivation and anti-reflection coating applications

The stoichiometry and hydrogen content of hot-wire (HW)-grown silicon nitride was examined as a function of SiH₄/NH₃ flow ratio. The effect of post-deposition hydrogenation treatment on overall film hydrogen content was determined. The hydrogen release properties in Si-rich and N-rich nitride layers were characterized by annealing treatments. Defect hydrogenation was studied using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy on platinum-diffused silicon substrates. HW nitride layers were deposited onto diffused emitter String Ribbon silicon substrates, producing cells with comparable short circuit current density, open circuit voltage, fill-factor, and efficiency to those fabricated using plasma chemical vapor deposition nitride layers.     

A hybrid tandem solar cell based on hydrogenated amorphous silicon and dye-sensitized TiO2 film

Hydrogenated amorphous silicon film (a-Si:H) as top cell is introduced to dye-sensitized titanium dioxide nanocrystalline solar cell (DSSC) as bottom cell to assemble a hybrid tandem solar cell. The hybrid tandem solar cell fabricated with the thicknesses a-Si:H layer of 235 nm, ZnO/Pt interlayer of 100 nm and DSSC layer of 8.5 μm achieves a photo-to-electric energy conversion efficiency of 8.31%, a short circuit current density of 10.61 mA·cm^− 2 and an open-circuit voltage of 1.45 V under a simulated solar light irradiation of 100 mW·cm^− 2.     

Influence of working pressure on ZnO:Al films from tube targets for silicon thin film solar cells

Mid-frequency magnetron sputtering of aluminum doped zinc oxide films (ZnO:Al) from tube ceramic targets has been investigated for silicon based thin film solar cell applications. The influence of working pressure on structural, electrical, and optical properties of sputtered ZnO:Al films was studied. ZnO:Al thin films with a minimum resistivity of 3.4 × 10⁻⁴ Ω cm, high mobility of 50 cm²/Vs, and high optical transmission close to 90% in visible spectrum region were achieved. The surface texture of ZnO:Al films after a chemical etching step was investigated. A gradual increase in feature sizes (diameter and depth) was observed with increasing sputter pressure. Silicon based thin film solar cells were prepared using the etched ZnO:Al films as front contacts. Energy conversion efficiencies of up to 10.2% were obtained for amorphous/microcrystalline silicon tandem solar cells.