Title :
The open circuit voltage of amorphous silicon p-i-n solar cells
Author :
Hegedus, Steven S.
Author_Institution :
Inst. of Energy Conversion, Delaware Univ., Newark, DE, USA
Abstract :
Results are presented of an extensive study of Voc in a-Si:H p-i-n solar cells deposited by photo-CVD (chemical vapor deposition) and plasma-CVD. The diode parameters under illumination have been analyzed for varying p-layer and carbon graded layer thicknesses and impurity levels. It is found that the diode factor is 1.5 and that the built-in voltage is 1.05 V for most cells, indicating that the diode mechanism does not evolve from diffusion to space-charge recombination. Instead, it is concluded that in typical devices Voc is dominated by recombination at the p/i junction. The author reviews previous analyses and conclusions of others and discusses limitations to Voc.
Keywords :
amorphous semiconductors; electron-hole recombination; elemental semiconductors; hydrogen; impurity electron states; plasma CVD coatings; silicon; solar cells; 1.05 V; Si:H; carbon graded layer thicknesses; chemical vapor deposition; diode parameters; impurity levels; open circuit voltage; p-i-n solar cells; p-layer thickness; photo-CVD; plasma-CVD; recombination; semiconductor; Amorphous silicon; Chemical vapor deposition; Circuits; Impurities; Lighting; P-i-n diodes; PIN photodiodes; Photovoltaic cells; Plasma chemistry; Voltage;
Conference_Titel :
Photovoltaic Specialists Conference, 1988., Conference Record of the Twentieth IEEE
Conference_Location :
Las Vegas, NV, USA
DOI :
10.1109/PVSC.1988.105666
