Optimization of a-SiGe based triple, tandem and single-junction solar cells

Author

Deng, Xunming

Author_Institution

Dept. of Phys. & Astron., Toledo Univ., OH, USA

fYear

2005

Firstpage

1365

Lastpage

1370

Abstract

Recent research activities at the University of Toledo (UT) in the fabrication of high-efficiency triple, tandem and single-junction solar cells, all employing high-quality a-SiGe cells, are reviewed in this paper. Incorporating various improvements in device fabrication, the UT group fabricated 1) triple-junction a-Si/a-SiGe/a-SiGe solar cells with 12.5% initial efficiency and 10.7% stable efficiency, tandem-junction a-Si/a-SiGe solar cells with 12.9% initial efficiency, and single-junction a-SiGe solar cells with 12.5-13% initial efficiency and 10.5% stable efficiency. This review also highlights recent UT work on the nanocrystalline silicon p-layer and light-assisted electrochemical shunt passivation process.

Keywords

Ge-Si alloys; amorphous semiconductors; elemental semiconductors; nanostructured materials; passivation; reviews; semiconductor junctions; silicon; solar cells; 10.5 percent; 10.7 percent; 12.5 to 13 percent; Si-SiGe; device fabrication; light-assisted electrochemical shunt passivation process; nanocrystalline silicon p-layer; review; single-junction solar cells; tandem-junction solar cells; triple-junction solar cells; Astronomy; Energy conversion; Germanium silicon alloys; Hydrogen; Optical device fabrication; Passivation; Photonic band gap; Photovoltaic cells; Physics; Silicon germanium;

fLanguage

English

Publisher

ieee

Conference_Titel

Photovoltaic Specialists Conference, 2005. Conference Record of the Thirty-first IEEE

ISSN

0160-8371

Print_ISBN

0-7803-8707-4

Type

conf

DOI

10.1109/PVSC.2005.1488395

Filename

1488395