Title :
The role of interfaces in the end-of-life performance of a-Si:H solar cells
Author :
Vasanth, K. ; Wagner, S. ; Caputo, D. ; Bennett, M.
Author_Institution :
Dept. of Electr. Eng., Princeton Univ., NJ, USA
Abstract :
We address the question of interfacial contribution to the end-of-life performance of a-Si:H solar cells by focusing on the p/i interface with a comprehensive set of experimental and modeling tools. To separate interfacial from bulk defects we light-soaked a thickness series of cells with i-layers from 0.2 μm to 1.0 μm. The degradation of the thickness series shows that there is no extra interfacial contribution to efficiency loss. We also soaked cells with 1.0 μm i-layers on specular substrates with blue and red light. The change in their quantum efficiency spectra also shows that the p/i interface does not degrade more than the bulk. Using the numerical model AMPS we show that light-soaking can be modeled without invoking extra interface losses
Keywords :
Staebler-Wronski effect; amorphous semiconductors; crystal defects; elemental semiconductors; hydrogen; losses; optical saturable absorption; silicon; solar cells; 0.2 to 1 mum; AMPS numerical model; Si:H; a-Si:H solar cells; blue light; bulk defects; efficiency loss; end-of-life performance; i-layers; interfacial defects; light-soaking; p/i interface; quantum efficiency spectra; red light; specular substrates; Circuits; Degradation; Geometry; Loss measurement; Numerical models; Performance loss; Photovoltaic cells; Substrates; Transistors; Zinc oxide;
Conference_Titel :
Photovoltaic Energy Conversion, 1994., Conference Record of the Twenty Fourth. IEEE Photovoltaic Specialists Conference - 1994, 1994 IEEE First World Conference on
Conference_Location :
Waikoloa, HI
Print_ISBN :
0-7803-1460-3
DOI :
10.1109/WCPEC.1994.520004
