Light-Induced Effects on the a-Si: H/c-Si Heterointerface

Light-induced effects on the minority carrier lifetime of silicon heterojunction structures are studied through multiple-exposure photoconductance decay (MEPCD). MEPCD monitors the effect of the measurement flash from a photoconductance decay setup on a sample over thousands of measurements. Varying the microstructure of the intrinsic...

Solar fuel production by using PV/PEC junctions based on earth-abundant materials

One of the main problems of renewable energies is storage of the energy carrier. For long-term storage, solar fuels seem to be a good option. Direct solar water splitting could play an important role in the production of these solar fuels. One of the main challenges of this process is the charge separation and collection at the interfaces. The...

Temperature dependency of the silicon heterojunction lifetime model based on the amphoteric nature of dangling bonds

This work adapts a model to simulate the carrier injection dependent minority carrier lifetime of crystalline silicon passivated with hydrogenated amorphous silicon at elevated temperatures. Two existing models that respectively calculate the bulk lifetime and surface recombination velocity are used and the full temperature dependency of...

Micro-textures for efficient light trapping and improved electrical performance in thin-film nanocrystalline silicon solar cells

Characterization of n-type Silicon Oxide for Use in Thin Film Solar Cells

This thesis studied the characteristics and applications of n-type silicon oxide (SiOx) produced through plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition were studied through. n-type SiOx has shown excellent results in various applications of solar cell technology including back reflectors and intermediate reflecting layers. These results can aid in...