High‐efficiency thin‐film silicon solar cells with improved light‐soaking stability

Hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a‐Si : H) films are prepared by plasma‐enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) with a triode electrode configuration in which a SiH 4 –H 2 glow‐discharge plasma is confined spatially away from the substrate. Although the deposition rate (0.1–0.5 Å/s) is lower than that of the conventional diode PECVD process (2.5 Å/s), the light‐induced degradation in conversion efficiency (Δ η / η ini ) of a single‐junction solar cell is substantially reduced (e.g., Δ η / η ini  ~ 10% at an absorber thickness of t i  = 250 nm), and efficiencies after light soaking (LS) maintain >9% for t i  = 180–390 nm. By applying the improved a‐Si : H layers as top cell absorbers in a‐Si : H/hydrogenated microcrystalline silicon (µc‐Si : H) tandem solar cells, the light‐induced degradation can be reduced further (e.g., Δ η / η ini  ~ 5% at t i  = 250 nm). As a result, we obtain confirmed stabilized efficiencies of 9.6% (LS condition: 100 mW/cm 2 , 50 °C, 1000 h) and 11.9% (LS condition: 125 mW/cm 2 , 48 °C, 310 h) for a‐Si : H single‐junction and a‐Si : H/µc‐Si : H tandem solar cells, respectively. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.