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Analysis of stability of amorphous silicon solar cells

Conference · · AIP Conf. Proc.; (United States)
OSTI ID:5293325
The efficiency of amorphous silicon p-i-n solar cells strongly depends on the electronic properties of the intrinsic layer. Exposure to above band-gap illumination results in the creation of metastable defects which appear as additional localized states in the mobility gap of amorphous silicon. These new defects reduce both carrier lifetimes and also modify the electric field distribution within a solar cell, resulting in a degradation of device performance with illumination time. In this paper we review the physics of amorphous silicon solar cells and show how they behave as a function of illumination time for varying cell thicknesses and illumination intensities for light entering these cells through both the n/sup +/ and p/sup +/ layers
Research Organization:
Xerox Palo Alto Research Center, Palo Alto, CA 94304
OSTI ID:
5293325
Report Number(s):
CONF-870116-
Conference Information:
Journal Name: AIP Conf. Proc.; (United States) Journal Volume: 157:1
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English