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Title: Carrier Selective, Passivated Contacts for High Efficiency Silicon Solar Cells based on Transparent Conducting Oxides

Abstract

We describe the design, fabrication and results of passivated contacts to n-type silicon utilizing thin SiO2 and transparent conducting oxide layers. High temperature silicon dioxide is grown on both surfaces of an n-type wafer to a thickness <50 Å, followed by deposition of tin-doped indium oxide (ITO) and a patterned metal contacting layer. As deposited, the thin-film stack has a very high J0,contact, and a non-ohmic, high contact resistance. However, after a forming gas anneal, the passivation quality and the contact resistivity improve significantly. The contacts are characterized by measuring the recombination parameter of the contact (J0,contact) and the specific contact resistivity (ρcontact) using a TLM pattern. The best ITO/SiO2 passivated contact in this study has J0,contact = 92.5 fA/cm2 and ρcontact = 11.5 mOhm-cm2. These values are placed in context with other passivating contacts using an analysis that determines the ultimate efficiency and the optimal area fraction for contacts for a given set of (J0,contact, ρcontact) values. The ITO/SiO2 contacts are found to have a higher J0,contact, but a similar ρcontact compared to the best reported passivated contacts.

Authors:
 [1];  [1];  [1];  [1];  [1];  [1];  [1];  [1]
  1. National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)
Publication Date:
Research Org.:
National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)
Sponsoring Org.:
USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Renewable Power Office. Solar Energy Technologies Office
OSTI Identifier:
1159778
Report Number(s):
NREL/JA-5J00-61658
Journal ID: ISSN 1876-6102; MainId:23061;UUID:dca42163-34b1-e311-9b94-d89d67143430;MainAdminID:11537
Grant/Contract Number:  
AC36-08GO28308
Resource Type:
Accepted Manuscript
Journal Name:
Energy Procedia (Online)
Additional Journal Information:
Journal Name: Energy Procedia (Online); Journal Volume: 55; Conference: Energy Procedia; Journal ID: ISSN 1876-6102
Publisher:
Elsevier
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
14 SOLAR ENERGY; 75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND SUPERFLUIDITY; 36 MATERIALS SCIENCE; silicon solar cells; passivated contacts

Citation Formats

Young, David L., Nemeth, William, Grover, Sachit, Norman, Andrew, Yuan, Hao-Chih, Lee, Benjamin G., LaSalvia, Vincenzo, and Stradins, Paul. Carrier Selective, Passivated Contacts for High Efficiency Silicon Solar Cells based on Transparent Conducting Oxides. United States: N. p., 2014. Web. doi:10.1016/j.egypro.2014.08.053.
Young, David L., Nemeth, William, Grover, Sachit, Norman, Andrew, Yuan, Hao-Chih, Lee, Benjamin G., LaSalvia, Vincenzo, & Stradins, Paul. Carrier Selective, Passivated Contacts for High Efficiency Silicon Solar Cells based on Transparent Conducting Oxides. United States. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.egypro.2014.08.053
Young, David L., Nemeth, William, Grover, Sachit, Norman, Andrew, Yuan, Hao-Chih, Lee, Benjamin G., LaSalvia, Vincenzo, and Stradins, Paul. Wed . "Carrier Selective, Passivated Contacts for High Efficiency Silicon Solar Cells based on Transparent Conducting Oxides". United States. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.egypro.2014.08.053. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1159778.
@article{osti_1159778,
title = {Carrier Selective, Passivated Contacts for High Efficiency Silicon Solar Cells based on Transparent Conducting Oxides},
author = {Young, David L. and Nemeth, William and Grover, Sachit and Norman, Andrew and Yuan, Hao-Chih and Lee, Benjamin G. and LaSalvia, Vincenzo and Stradins, Paul},
abstractNote = {We describe the design, fabrication and results of passivated contacts to n-type silicon utilizing thin SiO2 and transparent conducting oxide layers. High temperature silicon dioxide is grown on both surfaces of an n-type wafer to a thickness <50 Å, followed by deposition of tin-doped indium oxide (ITO) and a patterned metal contacting layer. As deposited, the thin-film stack has a very high J0,contact, and a non-ohmic, high contact resistance. However, after a forming gas anneal, the passivation quality and the contact resistivity improve significantly. The contacts are characterized by measuring the recombination parameter of the contact (J0,contact) and the specific contact resistivity (ρcontact) using a TLM pattern. The best ITO/SiO2 passivated contact in this study has J0,contact = 92.5 fA/cm2 and ρcontact = 11.5 mOhm-cm2. These values are placed in context with other passivating contacts using an analysis that determines the ultimate efficiency and the optimal area fraction for contacts for a given set of (J0,contact, ρcontact) values. The ITO/SiO2 contacts are found to have a higher J0,contact, but a similar ρcontact compared to the best reported passivated contacts.},
doi = {10.1016/j.egypro.2014.08.053},
journal = {Energy Procedia (Online)},
number = ,
volume = 55,
place = {United States},
year = {Wed Jan 01 00:00:00 EST 2014},
month = {Wed Jan 01 00:00:00 EST 2014}
}

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Works referenced in this record:

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journal, June 2013


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  • Sustainable Energy & Fuels, Vol. 3, Issue 3
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