Characterization of microcrystalline I-layer for solar cells prepared in low temperature - plastic compatible process

Microcrystalline silicon (mc-Si) lms deposited using a Plasma Enhanced Chemical Vapour Deposition (PECVD) process constitute an important material for manufacturing low-cost, large-area thin-lm devices, such as solar cells or thin-lm transistors. Although the deposition of electronic-grade mc-Si using the PECVD process is now well established, the high substrate temperature required (~400°C) does not lend itself to electronic devices with exible form factors fabricated on low-cost plastic substrates. In this study, we rst investigated an intrinsic mc-Si layer deposited at plastic-compatible substrate temperatures (~150°C) by characterising the properties of the lm and then evaluated its applicability to p-i-n solar cells though device characterisation. When the performance of the solar cell was correlated with lm properties, it was found that, although it compared unfavourably with mc-Si deposited at higher temperatures, it remained a very promising option. Nonetheless, further development is required to increase the overall eciency of mc-Si exible solar cells