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Mixed phase silicon oxide layers for thin-film silicon solar cells

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 June 2011

Peter Cuony ,
Duncan T.L. Alexander ,
Linus Löfgren ,
Michael Krumrey ,
Michael Marending ,
Mathieu Despeisse  and
Christophe Ballif
Peter Cuony
Affiliation:
Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Institute of Microengineering (IMT), Photovoltaics and Thin Film Electronics Laboratory (PV-Lab), Rue Breguet 2, 2000 Neuchâtel, Switzerland
Duncan T.L. Alexander
Affiliation:
Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Interdisciplinary Centre for Electron Microscopy (CIME), 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
Linus Löfgren
Affiliation:
Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Institute of Microengineering (IMT), Photovoltaics and Thin Film Electronics Laboratory (PV-Lab), Rue Breguet 2, 2000 Neuchâtel, Switzerland
Michael Krumrey
Affiliation:
Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB), Abbestr. 2-12, 10587 Berlin, Germany
Michael Marending
Affiliation:
Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Institute of Microengineering (IMT), Photovoltaics and Thin Film Electronics Laboratory (PV-Lab), Rue Breguet 2, 2000 Neuchâtel, Switzerland
Mathieu Despeisse
Affiliation:
Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Institute of Microengineering (IMT), Photovoltaics and Thin Film Electronics Laboratory (PV-Lab), Rue Breguet 2, 2000 Neuchâtel, Switzerland
Christophe Ballif
Affiliation:
Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Institute of Microengineering (IMT), Photovoltaics and Thin Film Electronics Laboratory (PV-Lab), Rue Breguet 2, 2000 Neuchâtel, Switzerland
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Abstract

Lower absorption, lower refractive index and tunable resistance are three advantages of doped silicon oxide containing nanocrystalline silicon grains (nc-SiOx) compared to doped microcrystalline silicon, for the use as p- and n-type layers in thin-film silicon solar cells. In this study we show how optical, electrical and microstructural properties of nc-SiOx layers depend on precursor gas ratios and we propose a growth model to explain the phase separation in such films into Si-rich and O-rich regions as visualized by energy-filtered transmission electron microscopy.

Keywords

photovoltaicthin filmSi
Type
Research Article
Information
MRS Online Proceedings Library (OPL) , Volume 1321: Symposium A – Amorphous and Polycrystalline Thin-Film Silicon Science and Technology , 2011 , mrss11-1321-a12-02
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2011

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References

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