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Title: Temperature and Humidity Stable Alkali/Alkaline-Earth Metal Carbonates as Electron Heterocontacts for Silicon Photovoltaics

Journal Article · · Advanced Energy Materials
ORCiD logo [1];  [2];  [2];  [2];  [3];  [3];  [3];  [4];  [2];  [3]
  1. Australian National Univ., Canberra, ACT (Australia). Research School of Engineering; Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA (United States). Dept. of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences; Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States). Materials Sciences Division
  2. Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA (United States). Dept. of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences; Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States). Materials Sciences Division
  3. Australian National Univ., Canberra, ACT (Australia). Research School of Engineering
  4. Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Ningbo (China). Ningbo Inst. of Material Technology and Engineering
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Nanometer scale interfacial layers between the metal cathode and the n-type semiconductor play a critical role in enhancing the transport of charge carriers in and out of optoelectronic devices. In this research, a range of nanoscale alkali and alkaline earth metal carbonates (i.e., potassium, rubidium, caesium, calcium, strontium, and barium) are shown to function effectively as electron heterocontacts to lightly doped n-type crystalline silicon (c-Si), which is particularly challenging to contact with common metals. These carbonate interlayers are shown to enhance the performance of n-type c-Si proof-of-concept solar cells up to a power conversion efficiency of ≈19%. Furthermore, these devices are thermally stable up to 350 °C and both the caesium and barium carbonates pass a standard 1000 h damp heat test, with >95% of their initial performance maintained. The temperature and humidity stable electron heterocontacts based on alkali and alkaline earth metal carbonates show a high potential for industrial feasibility and longevity for deployment in the field.

Research Organization:
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES). Materials Sciences & Engineering Division; Australian Research Council; Australia−US Inst. for Advanced Photovoltaics
Grant/Contract Number:
AC02-05CH11231; SC0004993; DP150104331; ACAP6.9
OSTI ID:
1638980
Alternate ID(s):
OSTI ID: 1439354
Journal Information:
Advanced Energy Materials, Vol. 8, Issue 22; ISSN 1614-6832
Publisher:
WileyCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Citation Metrics:
Cited by: 37 works
Citation information provided by
Web of Science

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Cited By (4)

Mitigating Plasmonic Absorption Losses at Rear Electrodes in High‐Efficiency Silicon Solar Cells Using Dopant‐Free Contact Stacks journal November 2019
Passivating contacts for crystalline silicon solar cells journal September 2019
12.29% Low Temperature–Processed Dopant‐Free CdS/p‐Si Heterojunction Solar Cells journal April 2019
ITO-free carrier-selective contact for crystalline silicon solar cells journal January 2019

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Related Subjects

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
alkali carbonate
alkaline earth metal carbonates
electron heterocontact
silicon photovoltaics