Thin Solid Films, Vol.517, No.12, 3513-3515, 2009
Microcrystalline silicon carbide thin films grown by HWCVD at different filament temperatures and their application in n-i-p microcrystalline silicon solar cells
To optimize the performance of microcrystalline silicon carbide (mu c-SiC:H) window layers in n-i-p type microcrystal line silicon (mu c-Si:H) solar cells, the influence of the rhenium filament temperature in the hot wire chemical vapor deposition process on the properties of mu c-SiC:H films and corresponding solar cells were studied. The filament temperature T(F) has a strong effect on the structure and optical properties of mu c-SiC:H films. Using these mu c-SiC:H films prepared in the range of T(F)=1800-2000 degrees C as window layers in n-side illuminated mu c-Si:H solar cells, cell efficiencies of above 8.0% were achieved with 1 mu m thick mu c-Si:H absorber layer and Ag back reflector. Crown Copyright (C) 2009 Plublished by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.