A study of ZnO:B films for thin film silicon solar cells

Boron doped zinc oxide (ZnO:B) films with different thicknesses were prepared with low pressure chemical vapor deposition (LPCVD) technique and implemented in thin film silicon solar cells as front and back electrodes. It is found that thick back ZnO:B film electrode in thin film silicon solar cells leads to a high fill factors (FF), which is attributed to an improvement of the electrical properties of the thick ZnO:B films, and in the meanwhile a slightly low short circuit currents (Jsc) due to a high light absorption in the thick back ZnO:B films. Differently, the thicker front ZnO:B film electrodes result in a high Jsc but a low FF of solar cells compared to the thinner ones. The low FF of the solar cells may be caused by the local shunt originated from the pinholes or by the cracks (zones of non-dense material) formed in particular in microcrystalline silicon materials deposited on rough front ZnO:B films. As to the high Jsc, it is expected to be due to a good light trapping effect inside solar cells grown on rough front ZnO:B films. Moreover, the application of high reflective polyvinyl butyral (PVB) foils effectively enhances the utilization of incident light in solar cells. By optimizing deposition process of the ZnO:B films, high efficiencies of 8.8% and 10% for single junction thin film amorphous silicon solar cells (a-Si:H, intrinsic layer thickness < 200 nm) and amorphous/microcrystalline silicon tandem solar cells (a-Si:H/μc-Si:H, intrinsic amorphous silicon layer thickness < 220 nm), respectively, are achieved.