access icon free Design of double-layer SiN x :H film and its application in c-Si PERC solar cells

The existing solar cell anti-reflection film technology still cannot adequately meet the light trapping needs of solar cells. In this Letter, double-layered SiN x :H films were prepared for c-Si solar cells by plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD). Herein, the authors introduce a simple, convenient method to lower the reflectance in silicon solar cells by applying double-layered SiN x :H film to increase the refractive index of such film. Compared to the single layer film devices, the reflectance of the double-layered SiN x :H film can be significantly reduced by >30% through enhanced absorption of light in solar cells. This method has achieved an average of 0.08% conversion efficiency, with the highest being 0.18%. In addition, the double-layer film solar cells also showed a better passivation performance than that of the single-layer film, so that the minority carrier lifetime was up to 137 µs. Therefore, the improvement of solar cell efficiency mainly come from the decrease of reflectivity and the improvement in film passivation performance. The work of this Letter demonstrated the light trapping advantages and passivation enhancement performance of double-layer films applied to single crystal silicon solar cells.

Inspec keywords: solar cells; carrier lifetime; silicon; semiconductor thin films; passivation; refractive index; elemental semiconductors; plasma CVD; antireflection coatings

Other keywords: PERC; single crystal silicon solar cells; light trapping; Si; minority carrier lifetime; time 137.0 mus; light absorption; film passivation performance; energy conversion efficiency; refractive index; antireflection film technology; single layer film devices; PECVD; double-layer films

Subjects: Photoelectric conversion; solar cells and arrays; Solar cells and arrays; Charge carriers: generation, recombination, lifetime, and trapping (semiconductors/insulators); Plasma applications in manufacturing and materials processing; Thin film growth, structure, and epitaxy; Chemical vapour deposition; Elemental semiconductors; Chemical vapour deposition

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