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Improvement of the recombination and infrared light losses by rear surface chemical polishing in silicon heterojunction solar cells

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Abstract

Rear surface chemical polishing (RSCP) was investigated for the improvement of the internal reflection and surface passivation of heterojunction solar cells with intrinsic thin layers (HIT). The HIT solar cells without or with RSCP treatment were prepared by plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition and physical vapor deposition techniques. Scanning electron microscopy results showed that rounding of the spires and V-groove bottom of the pyramid as well as smoothing of incline surface of the pyramid were achieved. These effects would decrease the loss of infrared light transmittance and interface recombination at the rear surface of the cells. To experimentally corroborate these two points, two special geometries, ITO/c-Si/hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H)/ITO and a-Si:H/c-Si/a-Si:H, were introduced as a test of the reflectance/transmittance spectra and the minority carrier lifetime. Weakened transmittance and enhanced lifetime were observed for the sample with RSCP, which are responsible for the improvement of J sc and V oc, respectively. Therefore, RSCP is a promising candidate for improving the performance of HIT solar cells.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like acknowledge support from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (61274053, 51572132), NSF of Hebei Province (No. E2015201203), Yang Fan Innovative & Entrepreneurial Research Team Project (2014YT02N037), and the Program of International S&T Cooperation (2015DFE62900).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Photo-Electronic Thin Film Devices and Technology, Nankai University, Tianjin, 300071, China

    Xueliang Yang, Yi Zhang & Yun Sun

  2. State Key Laboratory of Photovoltaic Materials and Technology, Yingli Energy (China) Company Limited, Baoding, 071051, Hebei, China

    Feng Li

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  1. Xueliang Yang
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  2. Yi Zhang
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Correspondence to Xueliang Yang.

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Yang, X., Zhang, Y., Li, F. et al. Improvement of the recombination and infrared light losses by rear surface chemical polishing in silicon heterojunction solar cells. Appl. Phys. A 123, 444 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00339-017-1066-3

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