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Toward 20% Efficiency With a-Si // poly-Si Tandem Solar Cell

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 February 2011

M. Yoshimi
Affiliation:
Faculty of Engineering Science, Osaka University, Toyonaka, Osaka 560, Japan
W. Ma
Affiliation:
Faculty of Engineering Science, Osaka University, Toyonaka, Osaka 560, Japan
T. Horiuchi
Affiliation:
Faculty of Engineering Science, Osaka University, Toyonaka, Osaka 560, Japan
C. C. Lim
Affiliation:
Faculty of Engineering Science, Osaka University, Toyonaka, Osaka 560, Japan
S. C. De
Affiliation:
Faculty of Engineering Science, Osaka University, Toyonaka, Osaka 560, Japan
K. Hattori
Affiliation:
Faculty of Engineering Science, Osaka University, Toyonaka, Osaka 560, Japan
H. Okamoto
Affiliation:
Faculty of Engineering Science, Osaka University, Toyonaka, Osaka 560, Japan
Y. Hamakawa
Affiliation:
Faculty of Engineering Science, Osaka University, Toyonaka, Osaka 560, Japan
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Abstract

A series of experimental investigations has been made on the a-Si // poly-Si tandem solar cell which is one of the most promised candidate of high cost-performance photovoltaic cell, e.g., high efficiency, low cost with almost no light induced degradation. Employing high conductivity with wide optical band gap p type microcrystalline SiC (μ-SiC) as a window material together with a-SiC as an interface buffer layer and also n type μc-Si as a back ohmic contact layer in the poly-Si based bottom cell, the conversion efficiency of 17.2 % has been obtained. Combining an optically transparent a-Si p-i-n cell as a top cell with an optical coupler between the top and the poly-Si bottom cell, a total efficiency of 20.3 % has been obtained so far on the four-terminal stacked mode structure. A systematic technical data for the optimization of cell structure variation on the developed tandem solar cells are presented and further possibility to improving the performance are discussed.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 1992

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References

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