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Influence of the semiconductor/metal rear contact on the performance of n(a-Si:H)/i(a-Si:H)/p(c-Si) heterojunction solar cells

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Abstract

The aim of this work is to analyze on the results of using of Al/Ag layer as a rear contact to improve the performance of heterojunction silicon solar cells. An analytical method is presented to extract the physical parameters of the equivalent circuit. These parameters are extracted to simulate the I(V) characteristic of heterojunction silicon solar cells, with Al and Al/Ag rear-metal contact. A good agreement between our analytical method and experimental measurement of electrical characteristics is obtained which show clearly how the Al/Ag rear contact can improve the characteristics of silicon solar cells. The influence of the rear-metal contact on the performance of the c-Si(p)-based bifacial HIT solar cell, i.e., the ZnO/Al/a-Si:H(n)/a-Si:H(i)/c-Si(p)/metal solar cell, is investigated in detail by computer simulation using the AFORS-HET software. Accordingly, the design optimization of the bifacial HIT solar cells on c-Si(p) substrates is provided. These simulation show an optimal conversion efficiency of 23% when the rear-metal contact is perfectly ohmic.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Applied Physics Laboratory, Department of Physics, Faculty of Sciences of Sfax, University of Sfax, BP 1171, 3000, Sfax, Tunisia

    Chedia Aliani, Monem Krichen & Abdelaziz Zouari

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  1. Chedia Aliani
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  2. Monem Krichen
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  3. Abdelaziz Zouari
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Correspondence to Chedia Aliani.

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Aliani, C., Krichen, M. & Zouari, A. Influence of the semiconductor/metal rear contact on the performance of n(a-Si:H)/i(a-Si:H)/p(c-Si) heterojunction solar cells. Opt Quant Electron 50, 296 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11082-018-1555-4

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