Title :
Improved 750 °C epitaxial crystal silicon solar cells through impurity reduction
Author :
Grover, Sachit ; Young, David L. ; LaSalvia, Vincenzo ; Li, Jian V. ; Branz, H.M. ; Stradins, Paul ; Teplin, Charles W.
Author_Institution :
Nat. Renewable Energy Lab., Golden, CO, USA
Abstract :
We characterize and improve epitaxial silicon films for solar cells grown by hot-wire chemical vapor deposition (HWCVD). The hot-wire filament temperature is found to affect the incorporation of impurities and the surface roughness of the films. Lowering the filament temperature leads to improved epitaxial films with lower impurities and smoother surfaces. Solar cells made with the improved material grown on low-cost silicon templates have open-circuit voltages (VOC) ~600 mV and efficiency exceeding 10%.
Keywords :
chemical vapour deposition; elemental semiconductors; epitaxial growth; impurities; semiconductor thin films; silicon; solar cells; surface roughness; HWCVD; Si; epitaxial crystal silicon solar cells; epitaxial silicon films; hot-wire chemical vapor deposition; hot-wire filament temperature; impurity reduction; low-cost silicon templates; open-circuit voltages; surface roughness; temperature 750 C; Epitaxial growth; Impurities; Photovoltaic cells; Plasma temperature; Silicon; DLTS; epitaxial silicon; hot-wire CVD; impurities; solar cells;
Conference_Titel :
Photovoltaic Specialists Conference (PVSC), 2013 IEEE 39th
Conference_Location :
Tampa, FL
DOI :
10.1109/PVSC.2013.6744097
