Surface passivation of inversion layer m.i.s. solar cells

Inversion layer m.i.s. solar cells rely on the charge-inducing properties of antireflection (a.r.) coatings to achieve good device performance. It has previously been shown that these properties reduce with time due to build-up of an equilibrium charge density on the outside of the a.r. coating. Although devices can be designed to accommodate this, considerable relaxation in design constraints could be achieved if it were possible to develop techniques for preventing this effect. Results with a technique based on surfactants are described.