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H{sub 2}-dilution vs. buffer layers for increased V{sub oc}

Book ·
OSTI ID:527615
; ; ; ; ; ;  [1]
  1. Univ. de Neuchatel (Switzerland). Inst. de Microtechnique

Hydrogen dilution and buffer layers, as two ways to obtain higher V{sub oc} values in a-Si:H p-i-n solar cells, are directly compared in the present study. Special emphasis is laid on stability against light soaking. H{sub 2}-dilution in combination with lower substrate temperature yields higher V{sub oc} values and better stability as compared to buffer layers. However, light absorption is decreased due to the increased gap in H{sub 2}-diluted cells. The stability of buffer layer cells can remarkably be ameliorated by boron doping and H{sub 2}-dilution of the a-SiC:H buffer layer. However, stabilized efficiency is higher for optimized diluted cells than for cells with a buffer layer. An a-Si/a-Si stacked cell with a graded dilution for both cells yielded 10% initial efficiency with 17% relative degradation. Diluted a-Si:H cells at lower temperature become specially interesting in combination with a microcrystalline bottom cell. For such a micromorph tandem cell the authors obtained 11.4% initial efficiency.

OSTI ID:
527615
Report Number(s):
CONF-960401--; ISBN 1-55899-323-1
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English