APIVT Epitaxial Growth on Zone-Melt Recrystallized Silicon: Preprint
Single-junction thin-film silicon solar cells require large grain sizes to ensure adequate photovoltaic performance. Using 2D silicon solar cell simulations on the quantitative effects of grain-boundary recombination on device performance, we have found that the acceptable value of effective grain boundary recombination velocity is almost inversely proportional to grain size. For example, in a polycrystalline silicon thin film with an intragrain bulk minority-carrier lifetime of 1 s, a recombination velocity of 104 cm/s is adequate if the grain is 20 m across, whereas a very low recombination velocity of 103 cm/s must be accomplished to achieve reasonable performance for a 2-m grain. For this reason, large grain size on the order of hundreds of m is currently a prerequisite for efficient solar cells, although a more effective grain-boundary passivation technique may be developed in the future.
- Research Organization:
- National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO.
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC36-99GO10337
- OSTI ID:
- 15004591
- Report Number(s):
- NREL/CP-520-34629
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
ATMOSPHERIC PRESSURE CHEMICAL-VAPOR DEPOSITION
ATMOSPHERIC-PRESSURE IODINE VAPOR TRANSPORT
DEVICE PERFORMANCE
GRAIN BOUNDARY
GRAIN SIZE
LIFETIME
MANUFACTURING
MICROELECTRONICS
PASSIVATION
PERFORMANCE
PHOTOVOLTAICS
POLYCRYSTALLINE SILICON
RECOMBINATION
SILICON
SILICON SOLAR CELLS
SOLAR CELLS
Solar Energy - Photovoltaics
THIN FILMS
VELOCITY
ZONE-MELT RECRYSTALLIZATION (ZMR)