Development of Hydrogenated Microcrystalline Silicon-Germanium Alloys for Improving Long-Wavelength Absorption in Si-Based Thin-Film Solar Cells
Hydrogenated microcrystalline silicon-germanium (μc-Si1-xGex:H) alloys were developed for application in Si-based thin-film solar cells. The effects of the germane concentration (RGeH4) and the hydrogen ratio (RH2) on the μc-Si1-xGex:H alloys and the corresponding single-junction thin-film solar cel...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Wiley
2014-01-01
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| Series: | International Journal of Photoenergy |
| Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2014/579176 |
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| author | Yen-Tang Huang Hung-Jung Hsu Shin-Wei Liang Cheng-Hang Hsu Chuang-Chuang Tsai |
| author_facet | Yen-Tang Huang Hung-Jung Hsu Shin-Wei Liang Cheng-Hang Hsu Chuang-Chuang Tsai |
| author_sort | Yen-Tang Huang |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Hydrogenated microcrystalline silicon-germanium (μc-Si1-xGex:H) alloys were developed for application in Si-based thin-film solar cells. The effects of the germane concentration (RGeH4) and the hydrogen ratio (RH2) on the μc-Si1-xGex:H alloys and the corresponding single-junction thin-film solar cells were studied. The behaviors of Ge incorporation in a-Si1-xGex:H and μc-Si1-xGex:H were also compared. Similar to a-Si1-xGex:H, the preferential Ge incorporation was observed in μc-Si1-xGex:H. Moreover, a higher RH2 significantly promoted Ge incorporation for a-Si1-xGex:H, while the Ge content was not affected by RH2 in μc-Si1-xGex:H growth. Furthermore, to eliminate the crystallization effect, the 0.9 μm thick absorbers with a similar crystalline volume fraction were applied. With the increasing RGeH4, the accompanied increase in Ge content of μc-Si1-xGex:H narrowed the bandgap and markedly enhanced the long-wavelength absorption. However, the bias-dependent EQE measurement revealed that too much Ge incorporation in absorber deteriorated carrier collection and cell performance. With the optimization of RH2 and RGeH4, the single-junction μc-Si1-xGex:H cell achieved an efficiency of 5.48%, corresponding to the crystalline volume fraction of 50.5% and Ge content of 13.2 at.%. Compared to μc-Si:H cell, the external quantum efficiency at 800 nm had a relative increase by 33.1%. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-1ce18a5f6c9b45f58f6615b28abfa818 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1110-662X 1687-529X |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2014-01-01 |
| publisher | Wiley |
| record_format | Article |
| series | International Journal of Photoenergy |
| spelling | doaj-art-1ce18a5f6c9b45f58f6615b28abfa8182025-02-03T01:11:13ZengWileyInternational Journal of Photoenergy1110-662X1687-529X2014-01-01201410.1155/2014/579176579176Development of Hydrogenated Microcrystalline Silicon-Germanium Alloys for Improving Long-Wavelength Absorption in Si-Based Thin-Film Solar CellsYen-Tang Huang0Hung-Jung Hsu1Shin-Wei Liang2Cheng-Hang Hsu3Chuang-Chuang Tsai4Department of Photonics, National Chiao Tung University, 1001 University Road, Hsinchu 300, TaiwanDepartment of Photonics, National Chiao Tung University, 1001 University Road, Hsinchu 300, TaiwanDepartment of Photonics, National Chiao Tung University, 1001 University Road, Hsinchu 300, TaiwanDepartment of Photonics, National Chiao Tung University, 1001 University Road, Hsinchu 300, TaiwanDepartment of Photonics, National Chiao Tung University, 1001 University Road, Hsinchu 300, TaiwanHydrogenated microcrystalline silicon-germanium (μc-Si1-xGex:H) alloys were developed for application in Si-based thin-film solar cells. The effects of the germane concentration (RGeH4) and the hydrogen ratio (RH2) on the μc-Si1-xGex:H alloys and the corresponding single-junction thin-film solar cells were studied. The behaviors of Ge incorporation in a-Si1-xGex:H and μc-Si1-xGex:H were also compared. Similar to a-Si1-xGex:H, the preferential Ge incorporation was observed in μc-Si1-xGex:H. Moreover, a higher RH2 significantly promoted Ge incorporation for a-Si1-xGex:H, while the Ge content was not affected by RH2 in μc-Si1-xGex:H growth. Furthermore, to eliminate the crystallization effect, the 0.9 μm thick absorbers with a similar crystalline volume fraction were applied. With the increasing RGeH4, the accompanied increase in Ge content of μc-Si1-xGex:H narrowed the bandgap and markedly enhanced the long-wavelength absorption. However, the bias-dependent EQE measurement revealed that too much Ge incorporation in absorber deteriorated carrier collection and cell performance. With the optimization of RH2 and RGeH4, the single-junction μc-Si1-xGex:H cell achieved an efficiency of 5.48%, corresponding to the crystalline volume fraction of 50.5% and Ge content of 13.2 at.%. Compared to μc-Si:H cell, the external quantum efficiency at 800 nm had a relative increase by 33.1%.http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2014/579176 |
| spellingShingle | Yen-Tang Huang Hung-Jung Hsu Shin-Wei Liang Cheng-Hang Hsu Chuang-Chuang Tsai Development of Hydrogenated Microcrystalline Silicon-Germanium Alloys for Improving Long-Wavelength Absorption in Si-Based Thin-Film Solar Cells International Journal of Photoenergy |
| title | Development of Hydrogenated Microcrystalline Silicon-Germanium Alloys for Improving Long-Wavelength Absorption in Si-Based Thin-Film Solar Cells |
| title_full | Development of Hydrogenated Microcrystalline Silicon-Germanium Alloys for Improving Long-Wavelength Absorption in Si-Based Thin-Film Solar Cells |
| title_fullStr | Development of Hydrogenated Microcrystalline Silicon-Germanium Alloys for Improving Long-Wavelength Absorption in Si-Based Thin-Film Solar Cells |
| title_full_unstemmed | Development of Hydrogenated Microcrystalline Silicon-Germanium Alloys for Improving Long-Wavelength Absorption in Si-Based Thin-Film Solar Cells |
| title_short | Development of Hydrogenated Microcrystalline Silicon-Germanium Alloys for Improving Long-Wavelength Absorption in Si-Based Thin-Film Solar Cells |
| title_sort | development of hydrogenated microcrystalline silicon germanium alloys for improving long wavelength absorption in si based thin film solar cells |
| url | http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2014/579176 |
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