Thin-film c-Si solar cells prepared by metal-induced crystallization

We prepared a thin-film polycrystalline silicon solar cell using metal-induced crystallization (MIC) of an amorphous silicon film and a thin Ni layer. The MIC using a 0.6-nm-thick Ni layer produced a highly activated n-type crystalline layer at a 550°C annealing temperature. The Ni concentration in the i-layer of a solar cell prepared by successively depositing i- and p-layers on an MIC n-layer using plasma-enhanced CVD was lower than 1×1016/cm3. This solar cell was highly responsive in the long-wavelength region of its quantum efficiency, indicating that the n/i interface and i-layer region near the n-layer were of high quality.