1997/01/20 by Rolf Brendel, Ralf B. Bergmann, Peter Lölgen +5
Engineering · Materials Science · #Silicon and Solar Cell Technologies #Thin-Film Transistor Technologies #Silicon Nanostructures and Photoluminescence
paper · doi:10.1063/1.118421
We fabricate thin crystalline silicon solar cells with a minority carrier diffusion length of 0.6±0.2 μm by direct high-temperature chemical vapor deposition on glass substrates. This small diffusion length does not allow high cell efficiencies with conventional cell designs. We propose a new cell design that utilizes submicron thin silicon layers to compensate for low minority carrier diffusion lengths. According to theoretical modeling, our design exhibits excellent light trapping properties and allows for 10% efficiency at an optimum cell thickness of 0.4 μm only. This submicron range of cell thicknesses was formerly thought to require direct band gap semiconductors.