Amorphous silicon photovoltaic devices prepared by chemical and photochemical vapor deposition of higher order silanes. Technical progress report, 1 September 1984-28 February 1985

Technical Report · Wed May 01 00:00:00 EDT 1985

OSTI ID:5533191

Delahoy, A E; Ellis, Jr, F B

This report describes the preparation of hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) films and photovoltaic devices by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) from higher order silanes, and the properties of such films and devices. The research is directed at exploring new, improved deposition techniques to produce a-Si:H. The improvement could stem from ease of deposition (lower cost and/or better reproducibility), from material improvement (higher efficiency and/or better stability under illumination), or from innovative materials that improve device performance. Research efforts have focused, therefore, on photo-CVD techniques; thermal CVD has been emphasized. This report summarizes the properties of the experimental thermal CVD films and the reasons for terminating the research in this area. In addition, the results for deposition by mercury-sensitized decomposition of disilane are presented. These results indicate that this technique is a very promising alternative to the glow-discharge method.

• Research Organization: Chronar Corp., Princeton, NJ (USA)
• DOE Contract Number: AC02-83CH10093
• OSTI ID: 5533191
• Report Number(s): SERI/STR-211-2703; ON: DE85012139
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

14 SOLAR ENERGY
SILICON
CHEMICAL VAPOR DEPOSITION
SILICON SOLAR CELLS
FABRICATION
AMORPHOUS STATE
DECOMPOSITION
ELECTRIC CONDUCTIVITY
GLOW DISCHARGES
GRADED BAND GAPS
HYDROGEN ADDITIONS
OPTIMIZATION
PHOTOCONDUCTIVITY
QUANTUM EFFICIENCY
SILANES
SPECTRAL REFLECTANCE
SPUTTERING
THIN FILMS
CHEMICAL COATING
CHEMICAL REACTIONS
DEPOSITION
DIRECT ENERGY CONVERTERS
EFFICIENCY
ELECTRIC DISCHARGES
ELECTRICAL PROPERTIES
ELEMENTS
EQUIPMENT
FILMS
HYDRIDES
HYDROGEN COMPOUNDS
OPTICAL PROPERTIES
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
ORGANIC SILICON COMPOUNDS
PHOTOELECTRIC CELLS
PHOTOVOLTAIC CELLS
PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
SEMIMETALS
SILICON COMPOUNDS
SOLAR CELLS
SOLAR EQUIPMENT
SURFACE COATING
140501* - Solar Energy Conversion- Photovoltaic Conversion