Thin film polycrystalline silicon solar cells. Second technical progress report, July 16, 1980-October 15, 1980
The objectives of this contract are to fabricate large area thin film silicon solar cells with AM1 efficiency of 10% or greater with good reproducibility and good yield and to assess the feasibility of implementing this process for manufacturing solar cells at a cost of $300/kWe. Efforts have been directed to the purification of metallurgical silicon, the preparation and characterization of substrates and epitaxial silicon layers, and the fabrication and characterization of solar cells. The partial purification of metallurgical silicon by extraction with aqua regia has been further investigated in detail, and the resulting silicon was analyzed by the atomic absorption technique. The unidirectional solidification of aqua regia-extracted metallurgical silicon on graphite was used for the preparation of substrates, and the impurity distribution in the substrate was determined and compared with the impurity content in metallurgical silicon. The effects of heat treatment on the impurity distribution in the substrate and in the epitaxial layer have also been investigated. Large area (30 to 60 cm/sup 2/) solar cells have been prepared from aqua regia-extracted metallurgical silicon substrates by depositing a p-n junction structure using the thermal reduction of trichlorosilane containing appropriate dopants. The AM1 efficiencies are about 9% for cells of 30 to 35 cm/sup 2/ area. Larger area, 60 cm/sup 2/, thin film solar cells have been fabricated for the first time, and their AM1 efficiencies are slightly higher than 8%. The spectral response, minority carrier diffusion length, and I/sub sc/-V/sub oc/ relation in a number of solr cells have been measured.
- Research Organization:
- Poly Solar, Inc., Garland, TX (USA)
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC02-77CH00178
- OSTI ID:
- 6809995
- Report Number(s):
- SERI/PR-9192-1-T2
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
Low cost thin film polycrystalline silicon solar cells. Final report, March 15, 1979-July 31, 1980
Thin films of silicon on metallurgical silicon substrates: Phase II. Quarterly project report No. 2, December 1, 1977--28 February 1978
Related Subjects
140501* -- Solar Energy Conversion-- Photovoltaic Conversion
36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
360601 -- Other Materials-- Preparation & Manufacture
ANTIREFLECTION COATINGS
CHALCOGENIDES
COATINGS
CRYSTALS
DEPOSITION
DIRECT ENERGY CONVERTERS
ELECTRICAL PROPERTIES
ELEMENTS
EPITAXY
EQUIPMENT
FABRICATION
FILMS
HEAT TREATMENTS
IMPURITIES
OXIDES
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
PERFORMANCE
PHASE TRANSFORMATIONS
PHOTOELECTRIC CELLS
PHOTOVOLTAIC CELLS
PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
POLYCRYSTALS
PURIFICATION
SEMIMETALS
SILICON
SILICON SOLAR CELLS
SOLAR CELLS
SOLAR EQUIPMENT
SOLIDIFICATION
SPECTRAL RESPONSE
SUBSTRATES
TIN COMPOUNDS
TIN OXIDES