Advantages of P-I-N Photovoltaic structures

Direct conversion of solar energy into electricity using the photovoltaic effect suffers of low efficiency. Thus, increasing the efficiency conversion becomes the major goal of solar cells manufacturers. One way to increase efficiency is by applying intrinsic semiconductor widening layer in the depletion zone of a P-N junction. P-I-N based Photovoltaic structures on single-crystalline silicon were built using "Sheet Plasma" sputtering method. Intrinsic silicon films and indium oxide films were grown in series on a conventional p-type silicon wafer. Optical and electrical properties of the deposited films were investigated using laboratory equipment. It was found that the bandgap of the intrinsic silicon layer equals to 1.3 eV and the bandgap of the emitter layer (In2O3) equals to 3.04 eV. Resistivity of the obtained emitter layer was equal to 5.24-10^-3 Ω·cm. Efficiency of the photovoltaic structures was no more than 2%. This paper proves feasibility of growing photovoltaic devices using Sheet Plasma sputtering methods.