Effects of light soaking on the performance and stability of a-Si:H thin-film solar cells

Thin-film silicon photovoltaic (PV) technology has an enormous potential in the solar power market due to its light weight, flexibility and ease of integration. This enables it to have a wide range of applications like roof top and building integrated installations making it more sustainable. Some of the other key benefits of thin-film silicon...

Determining the effect of a varying carbon concentration on the cycling stability of a a-SiCx:H anode

Lithium-ion batteries are currently most commonly used in most electronic devices. These batteries are used because of their superiority in gravimetric energy and cyclability compared to other battery technologies. The most common anode used in lithium-ion batteries is currently graphite. Graphite has proven to be a very stable cycling material....

Effective Passivation of Black Silicon Surfaces via Plasma-Enhanced Chemical Vapor Deposition Grown Conformal Hydrogenated Amorphous Silicon Layer

Solar cells based on black silicon (b-Si) are proven to be promising in photovoltaics (PVs) by exceeding 22% efficiency. To reach high efficiencies with b-Si surfaces, the most crucial step is the effective surface passivation. Up to now, the highest effective minority carrier lifetimes are achieved with atomic layer-deposited Al₂O...

Development of four-terminal mechanically-stacked solar cells utilising hydrogenated amorphous silicon oxide (a-SiO_x:H) and crystalline silicon cells

A tremendous amount of research in improving the efficiency of the single junction crystalline silicon (c-Si) based solar cells has brought its efficiency (26.6%) close to the theoretical maximum achievable conversion<br/>efficiency (29.43%) [1–3]. Thus to further improve the efficiency, new avenues of reducing losses need to be opened up. One...

Thin-film amorphous silicon germanium solar cells with p-and n-type hydrogenated silicon oxide layers

Mixed-phase hydrogenated silicon oxide (SiOx:H) is applied to thin-film hydrogenated amorphous silicon germanium (a-SiGe:H) solar cells serving as both p-doped and n-doped layers. The bandgap of p-SiOx:H is adjusted to achieve a highly-transparent window layer while also providing a strong electric field. Bandgap grading of n-SiOx:H is designed...

Migration of Open Volume Deficiencies in Hydrogenated Amorphous Silicon during Annealing

The nanostructure of hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) is studied by means of doppler broadening positron annihilation spectroscopy (DB-PAS) and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. The evolution of open volume deficiencies is monitored during annealing, demonstrating that small vacancies and other small vacancy clusters that...

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...

The nanostructure of hydrogenated amorphous silicon, examined by means of thermal annealing and light soaking

Photovoltaic energy is one of the key components of a sustainable energy future. While the market is currently dominated by crystalline silicon solar modules, thin-film silicon technology holds the promise of a cheap, resource-efficient and versatile alternative. The major drawback of thin-film silicon PV is its relatively low conversion...

Studying the nanostructure of a-Si:h solar cell absorber layers using positrion annihilation and neutron reflectometry

Hydrogenated Amorphous Silicon (a-Si:H) is a very promising solar cell material with a good potential to use in many applications, as it is cheap to produce, light-weight and flexible. However, upon prolonged exposure to light, the layers suffer from both metastable and irreversible changes (the Staebler-Wronski effect) that have a bad effect on...

Irradiation-induced degradation of amorphous silicon solar cells in space

Solar cells are the prime power supply for satellites in space. Space is, however, a hostile environment for electronic devices, such as solar cells: in space the devices are subjected to large temperature cycles, atomic oxygen, space dust, meteorites, and high-energy charged-particle irradiation. In this thesis we present the development of a...

Expanding thermal plasma deposition of hydrogenated amorphous silicon for solar cells

Abstract not available

Hydrogenated Amorphous Silicon and p/i-heterojunctions: Optical and Electrical Modeling and Technology as Applied to Solar Cells