p-Type a-Si:H/ZnO:Al and µc-Si:H/ZnO:Al thin-film solar cell structures—A comparative hard X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy study

Author

Gerlach, D. ; Wippler, D. ; Wilks, R.G. ; Wimmer, Manuel ; Lozac´h, M. ; Felix, R. ; Ueda, Shuichi ; Yoshikawa, Hideki ; Lips, K. ; Rech, Bernd ; Sumiya, Masato ; Kobayashi, Kaoru ; Gorgoi, Mihaela ; Hupkes, J. ; Bar, M.

Author_Institution

Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin für Materialien und Energie GmbH, D 12489, Germany

fYear

2012

fDate

3-8 June 2012

Firstpage

1

Lastpage

5

Abstract

The chemical and electronic properties of a-Si:H(B)/ZnO:Al and µc-Si:H(B)/ZnO:Al thin-film solar cell structures are studied by hard X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (HAXPES). Using a combination of different X-ray excitation energies and deliberate sample design, we were able to select the probed volume, i.e., the silicon capping layer only or the silicon and zinc oxide layer (including the buried interface). For the a-Si:H(B) material, we find a higher deposition rate and a smaller value for the modified Auger parameter than for µc-Si:H(B). In addition, we find indications of a pronounced band bending limited to the very surface of the a-Si:H(B) and the µc-Si:H(B) layers, which is more distinct in the latter case.

Keywords

Chemicals; Photoelectricity; Photovoltaic cells; Silicon; Spectroscopy; Zinc oxide; Hard X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (HAXPES); Si thin-film solar cell; surface and interface analysis;

fLanguage

English

Publisher

ieee

Conference_Titel

Photovoltaic Specialists Conference (PVSC), Volume 2, 2012 IEEE 38th

Conference_Location

Austin, TX, USA

Type

conf

DOI

10.1109/PVSC-Vol2.2012.6656743

Filename

6656743