CN102257636A - 具有背侧接点的光伏器件 - Google Patents

具有背侧接点的光伏器件 Download PDF

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CN102257636A
CN102257636A CN2009801515303A CN200980151530A CN102257636A CN 102257636 A CN102257636 A CN 102257636A CN 2009801515303 A CN2009801515303 A CN 2009801515303A CN 200980151530 A CN200980151530 A CN 200980151530A CN 102257636 A CN102257636 A CN 102257636A
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contacts
absorbed
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伊西克·C·奇吉尔亚里
美利莎·艾契尔
哈利·艾华特
汤玛士·J·吉密特
何甘
安德瑞斯·海吉杜斯
雷格·东克
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Awbscqemgk Inc
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Abstract

提供了用于以与常规太阳能电池相比时增大的效率将电磁辐射(例如太阳能)转化为电能的方法及装置。光伏(PV)器件大致上包括：窗层；吸收层，其布置在窗层下方，使得在光子通过窗层行进且被吸收层吸收时产生电子；以及用于外部连接的多个接点，其耦接到吸收层，使得用于外部连接的所有接点布置在吸收层下方且不会阻挡任何光子经由窗层到达吸收层。将所有的接点定位在PV器件的背侧上避免了由前侧接点造成的太阳阴影，太阳阴影一般存在于常规太阳能电池中。因此，本文描述的具有背侧接点的PV器件与常规太阳能电池相比可以允许增加效率。

Description

具有背侧接点的光伏器件
背景
技术领域
本发明的实施方式一般涉及具有增大的效率和较大的可挠性的光伏(PV)器件(例如太阳能电池)及用以制造其的方法。
相关技术的描述
因为化石燃料正以不断增加的速率耗尽，所以对替代能源的需要变得越来越明显。源自风、源自太阳及源自流水的能量提供对化石燃料(例如煤、油及天然气)的可再生的、环境友好的替代物。因为太阳能在地球上的几乎任何地方都容易得到，所以它可能有朝一日成为可行的替代物。
为了利用来自太阳的能量，太阳能电池的结吸收光子以产生电子空穴对，这些电子空穴对被结的内部电场分离以产生电压，从而将光能转化为电能。所产生的电压可通过串联连接太阳能电池而增加，且电流可通过并联连接太阳能电池而增加。太阳能电池可在太阳电池板上组合在一起。逆变器可耦接至若干太阳电池板以将直流功率转换为交流功率。
然而，生产太阳能电池的当前高成本相对于当代器件的低效率水平阻止太阳能电池成为主流能源，且限制太阳能电池可适用的应用。因此，需要适于大量应用的更有效的光伏器件。
发明概述
本发明的实施方式一般涉及用于以与常规太阳能电池相比时增大的效率将电磁辐射(例如太阳能)转化为电能的方法及装置。
本发明的一个实施方式提供一种光伏(PV)器件。该PV器件通常包括：窗层；吸收层，其布置在窗层下方以使得在光子穿过窗层行进且由吸收层吸收时产生电子；及用于外部连接的多个接点，其耦接至吸收层，使得用于外部连接的接点布置在吸收层下方且不阻挡这些光子的任何一个经由窗层到达吸收层。
本发明的另一个实施方式为一种制造PV器件的方法。该方法大致上包括：在基底上方形成窗层；在窗层上方形成吸收层，使得在光子穿过窗层行进且由吸收层吸收时产生电子；以及形成用于外部连接的多个接点，所述多个接点耦接至吸收层，使得用于外部连接的接点布置在吸收层下方且不阻挡这些光子的任何一个经由窗层到达吸收层。
附图的简要说明
因此，可详细理解本发明的上述特征结构的方式，即，上文简要概述的本发明的更特定的描述可参照实施方式进行，一些实施方式在附图中示出。然而，应注意，附图仅示出本发明的典型实施方式，且因此不应被视为其范围的限制，因为本发明可允许其它同等有效的实施方式。
图1以横截面示出根据本发明的一个实施方式的光伏(PV)单元的多个外延层。
图2示出根据本发明的一个实施方式的正处于PV单元的背侧上的半导体层的接点。
图3示出根据本发明的一个实施方式的在发射极层内的凹槽的边缘上的钝化物。
图4A示出根据本发明的一个实施方式的PV单元的背侧。
图4B示出根据本发明的一个实施方式的图4A的PV单元的等效电路。
详细描述
本发明的实施方式一般涉及用于以与常规太阳能电池相比时增大的效率将电磁辐射(例如太阳能)转化为电能的技术及装置。
示范性光伏单元
图1以横截面示出光伏(PV)单元100的各种外延层。可使用用于半导体生长的任何适合的方法在基底(未示出)上形成各种层，这些方法例如是分子束外延法(MBE)或金属有机化学汽相沉积法(MOCVD)。
PV单元100可包括形成于基底上方的窗层106及任何下伏缓冲层。窗层106可包含砷化铝镓(AlGaAs)，例如Al0.3Ga0.7As。窗层106可以是未掺杂的。窗层106可为透明的以允许光子穿过PV单元的前侧上的窗层传递至其它下伏层。
基极层108可形成于窗层106上方。基极层108可包含任何适合的III-V族化合物半导体，例如GaAs。基极层108可为单晶体且可以是n型掺杂的。
如图1中所示的，发射极层(emitter layer)110可形成于基极层108上方。发射极层110可包含任何适合III-V族化合物半导体以用于与基极层108形成异质结。举例而言，如果基极层108包含GaAs，则发射极层110可包含不同的半导体材料，例如AlGaAs(例如，Al0.3Ga0.7As)。如果发射极层110与窗层106都包含AlGaAs，则发射极层110的AlxGa1-xAs组合物可与窗层的AlyGa1-yAs组合物相同或不同。发射极层110可为单晶体且可为p型重掺杂(即，p+型掺杂)的。基极层108与发射极层110的组合可形成用于吸收光子的吸收层。
n型掺杂基极层与p+型掺杂发射极层的接触形成p-n层112。当光在p-n层112附近被吸收以产生电子空穴对时，内建电场可将空穴推动至p+型掺杂侧且将电子推动至n型掺杂侧。自由电荷的此移位导致两个层108、110之间的电压差，使得电子电流在负载耦接至这些层的端子两端时可流动。
常规光伏半导体器件通常具有p型掺杂基极层及n+型掺杂发射极层，而非上文所描述的n型掺杂基极层108及p+型掺杂发射极层110。由于载流子的漫射长度，基极层通常在常规器件中为p型掺杂的。
一旦形成发射极层110，空腔(cavity)或凹槽(recess)114就可足够深地形成于发射极层中以到达下伏基极层108。可例如通过使用光刻术将掩模应用于发射极层110且使用任何适合技术(例如湿式或干式蚀刻)移除发射极层110中未由掩模覆盖的半导体材料来形成这些凹槽114。以此方式，可经由PV单元100的背侧接近(access)基极层108。
对于一些实施例，界面层116可形成于发射极层110上方。界面层116可包含任何适合的III-V族化合物半导体，例如GaAs。界面层116可以是p+型掺杂的。
一旦形成外延层，在外延层剥离(ELO，epitaxiallift-off)工艺期间，PV单元100的功能层(例如，窗层106、基极层108及发射极层110)可与缓冲层及基底分离。
示范性电接点
电接点可用以将PV单元100的半导体层耦接至导线以用于连接至其它PV单元及用于到负载的外部连接。常规太阳能电池通常在电池的前侧与背侧上都具有接点。前侧接点(尤其是较厚的接点)形成阴影，此处光不可到达下伏吸收层以被转换为电能。因此，无法获得太阳能电池的效率潜能(efficiency potential)。因此，需要用于接触PV单元的半导体层而不引入阴影的技术及装置。
图2示出根据本发明的实施方式的在PV单元100的背侧上的半导体层的所有电接点。举例而言，n型接点602可形成于凹槽114中以提供与n型掺杂基极层108的界面，且p型接点604可形成于界面层116上方以耦接至p+型掺杂发射极层110。p+型掺杂界面层116中的重掺杂可促进产生欧姆接触。以此方式，通过在PV单元的前侧上具有电接点以阻挡光及形成太阳阴影而无需牺牲效率。
发射极层110中的凹槽114的图案及接点602、604的界面层116的剩余部分可基于期望的薄层电阻。与单个PV单元100的尺寸(例如，面积)相比，接点602、604的尺寸(例如，面积)可极小。而且，接点602、604的图案可提供对局部缺陷及阴影的内建容差(built-in tolerance)。
接点602、604可包含任何适合的导电材料，例如金属或金属合金。优选地，接点的材料在制造期间不应穿透(punch)半导体层。包含金(Au)的传统接点常常具有此刺穿(spiking)问题。此外，背侧接点的材料可优选地能够在相对低金属化处理温度(例如在150℃与200℃之间)下被涂覆。举例而言，接点602、604可包含钯/锗(Pd/Ge)以满足这些设计目标。钯不与GaAs反应。
无论选择何种材料，均可通过任何适合的方法，例如经由光致抗蚀剂的真空蒸发、光刻术、丝网印刷或仅沉积于已由石蜡或另一保护性材料部分地覆盖的PV单元的暴露部分上而在PV单元100上制造接点602、604。这些方法均涉及一种系统，在该系统中，不需要接点的PV单元的部分被保护，而PV单元的其余部分则暴露于金属。在这些方法中，丝网印刷可能是最有成本效益的，其有助于降低所得到的PV器件的成本。
尽管所有的接点602、604在PV单元100的背侧上以减少太阳阴影，但在设计有效的PV单元时，暗电流及其随时间及温度的稳定性可能仍受关注。经暴露的p-n层112可能为暗电流的源，且较大的凹槽114可能造成暗电流的增加。因此，较小的凹槽114可能是期望的。然而，在减小凹槽114的大小以减少暗电流与在凹槽114中制造n型接点602而不接触侧壁的可能性之间存在取舍。
因此，对于一些实施方式，凹槽114的侧壁可以用另一方式被钝化以减少PV单元中的暗电流。图3示出根据本发明的一个实施方式的在发射极层110中的凹槽114的侧壁(即，横向表面)上的钝化物702。侧壁可以使用任何适当的钝化方法(例如化学汽相沉积(CVD)或等离子体增强CVD(PECVD))，最有可能在形成n型接点602之前(但是可能在形成n型接点602之后)被钝化。钝化物702可以包含任何适当的不导电材料，例如氮化硅(SiN)、SiOx、TiOx、TaOx、硫化锌(ZnS)或其任何组合。
图4A示出PV单元100的背侧，其中所有的接点602、604布置在背侧上。如上所述，n型接点602可以位于发射极层110中的凹槽114内。PV单元100可以具有约2cm至3cm的宽度w，以及约10cm的长度l。
图4B示出图4A的PV单元100的等效电路1500。可认为PV单元100在每个n型接点602与p型接点604之间具有有效的微型太阳能电池1502。在PV单元100内，将所有n型接点602耦接至同一基极层108，且将所有p型接点604耦接至同一发射极层110。因此，等效电路1500的开路电压(Voc)可被模型化为在串联的微型太阳能电池1502两端的开路电压的总和，且短路电流(Isc)可被模型化为在并联的微型太阳能电池1502两端的短路电流的总和。本质上，PV单元100的等效电路1500可被视为单个太阳能电池，其与构成该单个太阳能电池的那些微型太阳能电池1502相比，具有较大的Voc及较大的Isc。
尽管上文针对本发明的实施方式，但是可设计本发明的其它及另外的实施方式而不偏离其基本范围，且其范围由随后的权利要求确定。

Claims (29)

1.一种光伏(PV)器件，包括：
窗层；
吸收层，其布置在所述窗层下方，使得在光子穿过所述窗层行进且被所述吸收层吸收时产生电子；以及
用于外部连接的多个接点，其耦接到所述吸收层，使得用于外部连接的所述接点布置在所述吸收层下方且不会阻挡所述光子经由所述窗层到达所述吸收层。
2.如权利要求1所述的PV器件，其中所述吸收层包括III-V族半导体。
3.如权利要求2所述的PV器件，其中所述III-V族半导体是单晶体。
4.如权利要求1所述的PV器件，其中所述吸收层包括：
基极层，其邻近所述窗层；以及
发射极层，其布置在所述基极层下方。
5.如权利要求4所述的PV器件，其中所述基极层是n型掺杂的。
6.如权利要求5所述的PV器件，其中所述基极层包含n型GaAs。
7.如权利要求4所述的PV器件，其中所述发射极层是p+型掺杂的。
8.如权利要求7所述的PV器件，其中所述发射极层包含p+型AlGaAs。
9.如权利要求4所述的PV器件，其中所述多个接点包括：
多个n型接点，其耦接到所述基极层；以及
多个p型接点，其耦接到所述发射极层。
10.如权利要求9所述的PV器件，其中所述多个n型接点布置在所述发射极层中的凹槽内，并且所述多个p型接点布置在所述发射极层下方。
11.如权利要求10所述的PV器件，其中所述发射极层中的所述凹槽的横向表面被钝化。
12.如权利要求11所述的PV器件，其中所述横向表面以SiN、SiOx、TiOx、TaOx、ZnS或其任何组合来钝化。
13.如权利要求1所述的PV器件，其中所述多个接点包含Pd/Ge。
14.如权利要求1所述的PV器件，其中所述PV器件的宽度为约2cm。
15.如权利要求1所述的PV器件，其中所述PV器件的长度为约10cm。
16.如权利要求1所述的PV器件，其中所述光子穿过所述PV器件的前侧上的所述窗层行进，并且所有所述多个接点布置在所述PV器件的背侧上，所述背侧与所述前侧相对。
17.一种制造光伏(PV)器件的方法，包括：
在基底上方形成窗层；
在所述窗层上方形成吸收层，使得在光子穿过所述窗层行进且被所述吸收层吸收时产生电子；以及
形成用于外部连接的多个接点，所述多个接点耦接到所述吸收层，使得用于外部连接的所述接点布置在所述吸收层上方且不会阻挡光子经由所述窗层到达所述吸收层。
18.如权利要求17所述的方法，还包括使用外延剥离(ELO)从所述基底移除所述吸收层和所述窗层。
19.如权利要求17所述的方法，其中形成所述吸收层包括：
在所述窗层上方形成基极层；以及
在所述基极层上方形成发射极层。
20.如权利要求19所述的方法，其中所述基极层是n型掺杂的。
21.如权利要求20所述的方法，其中所述基极层包含n型GaAs。
22.如权利要求19所述的方法，其中所述发射极层是p+型掺杂的。
23.如权利要求22所述的方法，其中所述发射极层包含p+型AlGaAs。
24.如权利要求19所述的方法，其中所述多个接点包括：
多个n型接点，其耦接到所述基极层；以及
多个p型接点，其耦接到所述发射极层。
25.如权利要求24所述的方法，其中形成所述多个接点包括：
在所述发射极层中形成凹槽以接近所述基极层；
将所述多个n型接点布置在所述发射极层中的所述凹槽内；以及
将所述多个p型接点布置在所述发射极层上方。
26.如权利要求25所述的方法，还包括使所述发射极层中的所述凹槽的横向表面钝化。
27.如权利要求26所述的方法，其中使所述凹槽的所述横向表面钝化包括以SiN、SiOx、TiOx、TaOx、ZnS或其任何组合来使所述横向表面钝化。
28.如权利要求17所述的方法，其中所述多个接点包含Pd/Ge。
29.如权利要求17所述的方法，其中所述PV器件被制造成使得光子穿过所述PV器件的前侧上的所述窗层行进，并且所有所述多个接点布置在所述PV器件的背侧上，所述背侧与所述前侧相对。
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