Possibility of high-efficiency thin film silicon solar cells by SiH/sub 4/-gas-free process

Starting from the performance of cells fabricated using aluminum-induced-crystallization (AIC), we discussed the possibility of high-efficiency thin film Si solar cells by SiH/sub 4/-gas-free process using PC1D simulation. In the cell fabrication by SiH/sub 4/-gas-free process, segregation of impurity atoms is a serious problem. By suppressing the impurity inclusion and optimizing the cell parameters, the possible efficiency is simulated to be about 12% in single-junction cells. Besides, amorphous Si:H (a-Si:H) films can be deposited using sputtering or ion plating in the atmosphere containing H/sub 2/ gas. If tandem cells can be fabricated using such a-Si:H films and polycrystalline Si films fabricated using AIC, the efficiency is expected to be 16%. Even by SiH/sub 4/-gas-free process, thin film Si cells can have enough efficiency for practical use.