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Investigation of Textured Back Reflectors for Microcrystalline Silicon Based Solar Cells

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 February 2011

O. Kluth ,
O. Vetterl ,
R. Carius ,
F. Finger ,
S. Wieder ,
B. Rech  and
H. Wagner
O. Kluth
Affiliation:
Institut für Schicht und Ionentechnik– Photovoltaik, Forschungszentrum Jülich, D-52425 Jülich, Germany, o.kluth@fz-juelich.de
O. Vetterl
Affiliation:
Institut für Schicht und Ionentechnik– Photovoltaik, Forschungszentrum Jülich, D-52425 Jülich, Germany
R. Carius
Affiliation:
Institut für Schicht und Ionentechnik– Photovoltaik, Forschungszentrum Jülich, D-52425 Jülich, Germany
F. Finger
Affiliation:
Institut für Schicht und Ionentechnik– Photovoltaik, Forschungszentrum Jülich, D-52425 Jülich, Germany
S. Wieder
Affiliation:
Institut für Schicht und Ionentechnik– Photovoltaik, Forschungszentrum Jülich, D-52425 Jülich, Germany
B. Rech
Affiliation:
Institut für Schicht und Ionentechnik– Photovoltaik, Forschungszentrum Jülich, D-52425 Jülich, Germany
H. Wagner
Affiliation:
Institut für Schicht und Ionentechnik– Photovoltaik, Forschungszentrum Jülich, D-52425 Jülich, Germany
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Abstract

Microcrystalline silicon (μc-Si:H) solar cells require an effective light trapping in the near infrared (NIR) to enhance the long wavelength spectral response. For this purpose we investigated back reflectors based on texture-etched ZnO/Ag stacks prepared on glass substrates by magnetron sputtering. With decreasing sputter pressure the resulting surface texture of the glass/Ag/ZnO substrates after etching exhibits a larger feature size and root mean square roughness. The increase in feature size corresponds to an increase of diffuse reflectivity. Applied in microcrystalline solar cells prepared by VHF plasma enhanced chemical vapour deposition (PECVD), the reflectors showing the largest feature size (prepared at the lowest possible sputter pressure) yielded the highest long wavelength spectral response. The μc-Si n-i-p cells prepared on the latter back reflector exhibited efficiencies of 6.9 % (short circuit current density jsc= 18.8 mA/cm2) and 7.5 % (jsc=25 mA/cm2) for an i-layer thickness of 1 μm and 3.5 μm, respectively.

Type
Research Article
Information
MRS Online Proceedings Library (OPL) , Volume 557: Symposium A – Amorphous and Heterogeneous Silicon Thin Films—Fundamentals to Devices—1999 , 1999 , 731
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 1999

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