Silicon heterojunction solar cells: Optimization of emitter and contact properties from analytical calculation and numerical simulation

The key constituent of silicon heterojunction solar cells, the amorphous silicon/crystalline silicon heterojunction (a-Si:H/c-Si), offers a high open-circuit voltage (Voc) potential providing that both the interface defect passivation and the band bending in the c-Si absorber are sufficient. We detail here analytical calculations of the equilibrium band bending in c-Si (ψc-Si) in Transparent Conductive Oxide (TCO)/a-Si:H emitter/c-Si absorber structures. We studied the variation of some electronic parameters (density of states, work function) according to relevant experimental values. This study introduces a discussion on the optimization of the doped emitter layer in relation with the work function of the TCO. In particular, we argue on the advantage of having a highly defective (p)a-Si:H emitter layer that maximizes ψc-Si and reduces the influence of the TCO on Voc.