Polycrystalline Si(poly-Si)-based passivating contacts are promising candidates for high-efficiency crystalline Si solar cells.We show that nanosecond-scale pulsed laser melting(PLM)is an industrially viable technique...Polycrystalline Si(poly-Si)-based passivating contacts are promising candidates for high-efficiency crystalline Si solar cells.We show that nanosecond-scale pulsed laser melting(PLM)is an industrially viable technique to fabricate such contacts with precisely controlled dopant concentration profiles that exceed the solid solubility limit.We demonstrate that conventionally doped,hole-selective poly-Si/SiO_(x)contacts that provide poor surface passivation of c-Si can be replaced with Ga-or B-doped contacts based on non-equilibrium doping.We overcome the solid solubility limit for both dopants in poly-Si by rapid cooling and recrystallization over a timescale of∼25 ns.We show an active Ga dopant concentration of∼3×10^(20)cm^(−3)in poly-Si which is six times higher than its solubility limit in c-Si,and a B dopant concentration as high as∼10^(21) cm^(−3).We measure an implied open-circuit voltage of 735 mV for Ga-doped poly-Si/SiO_(x)contacts on Czochralski Si with a low contact resistivity of 35.5±2.4 mΩcm^(2).Scanning spreading resistance microscopy and Kelvin probe force microscopy show large diffusion and drift current in the p-n junction that contributes to the low contact resistivity.Our results suggest that PLM can be extended for hyperdoping of other semiconductors with low solubility atoms to enable high-efficiency devices.展开更多
The laser equipment is one of the key equipment in the production line of the solar energy. In this article, the author de-scribes the application of the laser equipment in the production line of the amorphous silicon...The laser equipment is one of the key equipment in the production line of the solar energy. In this article, the author de-scribes the application of the laser equipment in the production line of the amorphous silicon film solar cells, and points out that the stable and exactitude is the key direction of the future development of the laser scribing equipment.展开更多
Light trapping photonic crystal(PhC)patterns on the surface of Si solar cells provides a novel opportunity to approach the theoretical efficiency limit of 32.3%,for light-to-electrical power conversion with a single j...Light trapping photonic crystal(PhC)patterns on the surface of Si solar cells provides a novel opportunity to approach the theoretical efficiency limit of 32.3%,for light-to-electrical power conversion with a single junction cell.This is beyond the efficiency limit implied by the Lambertian limit of ray trapping~29%.The interference and slow light effects are harnessed for collecting light even at the long wavelengths near the Si band-gap.We compare two different methods for surface patterning,that can be extended to large area surface patterning:1)laser direct write and 2)step-&-repeat 5×reduction projection lithography.Large area throughput limitations of these methods are compared with the established elec-tron beam lithography(EBL)route,which is conventionally utilised but much slower than the presented methods.Spec-tral characterisation of the PhC light trapping is compared for samples fabricated by different methods.Reflectance of Si etched via laser patterned mask was~7%at visible wavelengths and was comparable with Si patterned via EBL made mask.The later pattern showed a stronger absorbance than the Lambertian limit6.展开更多
Non-metallic particles and metallic impurities present in the feedstock affect the electrical and mechanical properties of high quality silicon which is used in critical applications such as photovoltaic solar cells a...Non-metallic particles and metallic impurities present in the feedstock affect the electrical and mechanical properties of high quality silicon which is used in critical applications such as photovoltaic solar cells and electronic devices. SiC particles strongly deteriorate the mechanical properties of photovoltaic cells and cause shunting problem. Therefore, these particles should be removed from silicon before solar cells are fabricated from this material. Separation of non-metallic particles from liquid metals by imposing an electromagnetic field was identified as an enhanced technology to produce ultra pure metals. Application of this method for removal of SiC particles from metallurgical grade silicon （MG-Si） was presented. Numerical methods based on a combination of classical models for inclusion removal and computational fluid dynamics （CFD） were developed to calculate the particle concentration and separation efficiency from the melt. In order to check efficiency of the method, several experiments were done using an induction furnace. The experimental results show that this method can be effectively applied to purifying silicon melts from the non-metallic inclusions. The results are in a good agreement with the predictions made by the model.展开更多
Hyperdoping that introduces impurities with concentrations exceeding their equilibrium solubility has been attract-ing great interest since the tuning of semiconductor properties increasingly relies on extreme measure...Hyperdoping that introduces impurities with concentrations exceeding their equilibrium solubility has been attract-ing great interest since the tuning of semiconductor properties increasingly relies on extreme measures.In this review we fo-cus on hyperdoped silicon(Si)by introducing methods used for the hyperdoping of Si such as ion implantation and laser dop-ing,discussing the electrical and optical properties of hyperdoped bulk Si,Si nanocrystals,Si nanowires and Si films,and present-ing the use of hyperdoped Si for devices like infrared photodetectors and solar cells.The perspectives of the development of hy-perdoped Si are also provided.展开更多
基金the National Renewable Energy Laboratory,operated by Alliance for Sustainable Energy,LLC,for the U.S.Department of Energy(DOE)under Contract No.DE-AC36-08GO28308.
文摘Polycrystalline Si(poly-Si)-based passivating contacts are promising candidates for high-efficiency crystalline Si solar cells.We show that nanosecond-scale pulsed laser melting(PLM)is an industrially viable technique to fabricate such contacts with precisely controlled dopant concentration profiles that exceed the solid solubility limit.We demonstrate that conventionally doped,hole-selective poly-Si/SiO_(x)contacts that provide poor surface passivation of c-Si can be replaced with Ga-or B-doped contacts based on non-equilibrium doping.We overcome the solid solubility limit for both dopants in poly-Si by rapid cooling and recrystallization over a timescale of∼25 ns.We show an active Ga dopant concentration of∼3×10^(20)cm^(−3)in poly-Si which is six times higher than its solubility limit in c-Si,and a B dopant concentration as high as∼10^(21) cm^(−3).We measure an implied open-circuit voltage of 735 mV for Ga-doped poly-Si/SiO_(x)contacts on Czochralski Si with a low contact resistivity of 35.5±2.4 mΩcm^(2).Scanning spreading resistance microscopy and Kelvin probe force microscopy show large diffusion and drift current in the p-n junction that contributes to the low contact resistivity.Our results suggest that PLM can be extended for hyperdoping of other semiconductors with low solubility atoms to enable high-efficiency devices.
文摘The laser equipment is one of the key equipment in the production line of the solar energy. In this article, the author de-scribes the application of the laser equipment in the production line of the amorphous silicon film solar cells, and points out that the stable and exactitude is the key direction of the future development of the laser scribing equipment.
基金project support by Nano-Processing Facility (NPF), AIST, Tsukuba, Japan where we were granted access to photo-lithography stepperARC DP190103284 "Photonic crystals: the key to breaking the silicon-solar cell efficiency barrier" project+1 种基金the visiting professor program at the Institute of Advanced Sciences at Yokohama National University (2018-20)Nanotechnology Ambassador fellowship at MCN (2012-19)
文摘Light trapping photonic crystal(PhC)patterns on the surface of Si solar cells provides a novel opportunity to approach the theoretical efficiency limit of 32.3%,for light-to-electrical power conversion with a single junction cell.This is beyond the efficiency limit implied by the Lambertian limit of ray trapping~29%.The interference and slow light effects are harnessed for collecting light even at the long wavelengths near the Si band-gap.We compare two different methods for surface patterning,that can be extended to large area surface patterning:1)laser direct write and 2)step-&-repeat 5×reduction projection lithography.Large area throughput limitations of these methods are compared with the established elec-tron beam lithography(EBL)route,which is conventionally utilised but much slower than the presented methods.Spec-tral characterisation of the PhC light trapping is compared for samples fabricated by different methods.Reflectance of Si etched via laser patterned mask was~7%at visible wavelengths and was comparable with Si patterned via EBL made mask.The later pattern showed a stronger absorbance than the Lambertian limit6.
文摘Non-metallic particles and metallic impurities present in the feedstock affect the electrical and mechanical properties of high quality silicon which is used in critical applications such as photovoltaic solar cells and electronic devices. SiC particles strongly deteriorate the mechanical properties of photovoltaic cells and cause shunting problem. Therefore, these particles should be removed from silicon before solar cells are fabricated from this material. Separation of non-metallic particles from liquid metals by imposing an electromagnetic field was identified as an enhanced technology to produce ultra pure metals. Application of this method for removal of SiC particles from metallurgical grade silicon （MG-Si） was presented. Numerical methods based on a combination of classical models for inclusion removal and computational fluid dynamics （CFD） were developed to calculate the particle concentration and separation efficiency from the melt. In order to check efficiency of the method, several experiments were done using an induction furnace. The experimental results show that this method can be effectively applied to purifying silicon melts from the non-metallic inclusions. The results are in a good agreement with the predictions made by the model.
基金supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China (Grant Nos. 2017YFA0205704 and 2018YFB2200101)the Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 91964107 and U20A20209)provided by the Natural Science Foundation of China for Innovative Research Groups (Grant No. 61721005)
文摘Hyperdoping that introduces impurities with concentrations exceeding their equilibrium solubility has been attract-ing great interest since the tuning of semiconductor properties increasingly relies on extreme measures.In this review we fo-cus on hyperdoped silicon(Si)by introducing methods used for the hyperdoping of Si such as ion implantation and laser dop-ing,discussing the electrical and optical properties of hyperdoped bulk Si,Si nanocrystals,Si nanowires and Si films,and present-ing the use of hyperdoped Si for devices like infrared photodetectors and solar cells.The perspectives of the development of hy-perdoped Si are also provided.
