Topic
Amorphous silicon
About: Amorphous silicon is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 26777 publications have been published within this topic receiving 423234 citations.
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TL;DR: In this paper, the influence of the Si-H2 bond on light-induced degradation and the thermal recovery of a-Si films and solar cells was studied, and an irreversible phenomenon was observed in film properties and solar cell characteristics.
Abstract: The influence of the Si-H2 bond on light-induced degradation and the thermal recovery of a-Si films and a-Si solar cells were studied. The influence of the Si-H2 bond on light-induced degradation depends on the impurity content in a-Si films, and light-induced degradation can be reduced by decreasing the Si-H2 bond density in a-Si films with impurity content of 1018 cm-3. The activation energy of the thermal recovery process was about 1.0 eV, and it did not depend on the Si-H2 bond density. However, an irreversible phenomenon was observed in film properties and solar cell characteristics with high Si-H2 bond density. It is thought that the structural flexibility of the Si-H2 bond is related to this irreversible phenomenon.
100 citations
TL;DR: In this article, a dielectric between the absorber and rear metal electrode of a solar cell increases rear internal reflectance by both limiting the transmission cone and suppressing the plasmonic absorption of light arriving outside of the cone.
Abstract: Inserting a dielectric between the absorber and rear metal electrode of a solar cell increases rear internal reflectance by both limiting the transmission cone and suppressing the plasmonic absorption of light arriving outside of the cone. We fabricate rear reflectors with low-refractive-index magnesium fluoride (MgF2) as the dielectric, and with local electrical contacts through the MgF2 layer. These MgF2/metal reflectors are introduced into amorphous silicon/crystalline silicon heterojunction solar cells in place of the usual transparent conductive oxide/metal reflector. An MgF2/Ag reflector yields an average rear internal reflectance of greater than 99.5% and an infrared internal quantum efficiency that exceeds that of the world-record UNSW PERL cell. An MgF2/Al reflector performs nearly as well, enabling an efficiency of 21.3% and a short-circuit current density of nearly 38 mA/cm2 in a silicon heterojunction solar cell without silver or indium tin oxide at the rear.
100 citations
Patent•
13 Feb 1995
TL;DR: In this article, the amorphous silicon film is thermally annealed to crystallize it, and the surface of the obtained crystalline silicon film was etched to a depth of 20 to 200 Å, thus producing a clean surface.
Abstract: Method of fabricating a semiconductor device, such as a thin-film transistor, having improved characteristics and improved reliability. The method is initiated with formation of a thin amorphous silicon film on a substrate. A metallization layer containing at least one of nickel, iron, cobalt, and platinum is selectively formed on or under the amorphous silicon film so as to be in intimate contact with the silicon film, or these metal elements are added to the amorphous silicon film. The amorphous silicon film is thermally annealed to crystallize it. The surface of the obtained crystalline silicon film is etched to a depth of 20 to 200 Å, thus producing a clean surface. An insulating film is formed on the clean surface by CVD or physical vapor deposition. Gate electrodes are formed on the insulating film.
100 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the experimental realization of amorphous/micro-crystalline silicon tandem solar cells (Micromorph) based on a three-dimensional design was reported.
Abstract: We report on the experimental realization of amorphous/microcrystalline silicon tandem solar cells (Micromorph) based on our three-dimensional design An enhancement is reached in the short-circuit current by 40%, with an excellent open-circuit voltage of 141V and a fill factor of 72% We have used nanoholes or microholes dry etched into the ZnO front contact layer Monte Carlo optical modeling shows that stable efficiency of amorphous silicon p-i-n solar cells in over 12% range is possible For the Micromorph cells, efficiency over 15% with the thickness of amorphous Si below 200 nm and of microcrystalline Si around 500 nm is possible
100 citations
Patent•
24 Apr 1986
TL;DR: In this article, the amorphous silicon layer is formed on the thin ferromagnetic metallic film by a method such as sputtering using Si as a target, and a surface treatment layer is provided there between.
Abstract: PURPOSE:To obtain a thin metallic film type flexible magnetic recording medium having excellent mechanical durability by having a thin ferromagnetic metallic film and amorphous silicon layer formed on a flexible substrate and further a lubricating layer formed on the amorphous silicon layer. CONSTITUTION:The thickness of the flexible substrate 1 is preferably about 4-100mum and the thickness of the thin ferromagnetic metallic film 2 is preferably 0.01-2mum. The amorphous silicon layer 3 is formed on the thin ferromagnetic metallic film by a method such as sputtering using Si as a target. The amorphous silicon layer has the wear resistance specific to an amorphous material and since the layer is in an amorphous state, many unpaired electrons exist therein. The lubricating layer 5 which is chemically active and is hardly strippable by binding securely with a lubricating agent is formed. The medium having high durability even if the lubricating agent is directly coated on the layer is obtd. The much higher durability is obtd. if a surface treatment layer 4 consisting of fluorinated silane is provided therebetween.
100 citations