JPH0433378A - Photovoltaic device - Google Patents
Photovoltaic deviceInfo
- Publication number
- JPH0433378A JPH0433378A JP2141156A JP14115690A JPH0433378A JP H0433378 A JPH0433378 A JP H0433378A JP 2141156 A JP2141156 A JP 2141156A JP 14115690 A JP14115690 A JP 14115690A JP H0433378 A JPH0433378 A JP H0433378A
- Authority
- JP
- Japan
- Prior art keywords
- layer
- amorphous silicon
- silicon layer
- film
- hydrogen
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Pending
Links
- 229910021417 amorphous silicon Inorganic materials 0.000 claims abstract description 44
- 238000006243 chemical reaction Methods 0.000 claims abstract description 18
- 239000004065 semiconductor Substances 0.000 claims abstract description 14
- XUIMIQQOPSSXEZ-UHFFFAOYSA-N Silicon Chemical compound [Si] XUIMIQQOPSSXEZ-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 claims abstract description 11
- 125000004435 hydrogen atom Chemical group [H]* 0.000 claims abstract description 9
- 230000005540 biological transmission Effects 0.000 claims abstract 2
- UFHFLCQGNIYNRP-UHFFFAOYSA-N Hydrogen Chemical compound [H][H] UFHFLCQGNIYNRP-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 abstract description 5
- 239000001257 hydrogen Substances 0.000 abstract description 5
- 229910052739 hydrogen Inorganic materials 0.000 abstract description 5
- 229910052710 silicon Inorganic materials 0.000 abstract description 4
- 239000010703 silicon Substances 0.000 abstract description 4
- 229910052751 metal Inorganic materials 0.000 abstract description 3
- 239000002184 metal Substances 0.000 abstract description 3
- 239000011521 glass Substances 0.000 abstract 1
- 229910003437 indium oxide Inorganic materials 0.000 abstract 1
- PJXISJQVUVHSOJ-UHFFFAOYSA-N indium(iii) oxide Chemical compound [O-2].[O-2].[O-2].[In+3].[In+3] PJXISJQVUVHSOJ-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 abstract 1
- 239000010453 quartz Substances 0.000 abstract 1
- VYPSYNLAJGMNEJ-UHFFFAOYSA-N silicon dioxide Inorganic materials O=[Si]=O VYPSYNLAJGMNEJ-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 abstract 1
- XOLBLPGZBRYERU-UHFFFAOYSA-N tin dioxide Chemical compound O=[Sn]=O XOLBLPGZBRYERU-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 abstract 1
- 229910001887 tin oxide Inorganic materials 0.000 abstract 1
- 238000000034 method Methods 0.000 description 8
- 230000007423 decrease Effects 0.000 description 6
- 230000000694 effects Effects 0.000 description 3
- 230000031700 light absorption Effects 0.000 description 3
- 230000015572 biosynthetic process Effects 0.000 description 2
- 230000003287 optical effect Effects 0.000 description 2
- 229910052782 aluminium Inorganic materials 0.000 description 1
- XAGFODPZIPBFFR-UHFFFAOYSA-N aluminium Chemical compound [Al] XAGFODPZIPBFFR-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 1
- 125000004429 atom Chemical group 0.000 description 1
- 238000000354 decomposition reaction Methods 0.000 description 1
- 230000003247 decreasing effect Effects 0.000 description 1
- 230000007547 defect Effects 0.000 description 1
- 238000010586 diagram Methods 0.000 description 1
- 230000005684 electric field Effects 0.000 description 1
- 238000010894 electron beam technology Methods 0.000 description 1
- 238000002474 experimental method Methods 0.000 description 1
- 239000007789 gas Substances 0.000 description 1
- 229910052738 indium Inorganic materials 0.000 description 1
- APFVFJFRJDLVQX-UHFFFAOYSA-N indium atom Chemical compound [In] APFVFJFRJDLVQX-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 1
- 238000004519 manufacturing process Methods 0.000 description 1
- 238000004544 sputter deposition Methods 0.000 description 1
- 239000000758 substrate Substances 0.000 description 1
Classifications
-
- Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
- Y02—TECHNOLOGIES OR APPLICATIONS FOR MITIGATION OR ADAPTATION AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE
- Y02E—REDUCTION OF GREENHOUSE GAS [GHG] EMISSIONS, RELATED TO ENERGY GENERATION, TRANSMISSION OR DISTRIBUTION
- Y02E10/00—Energy generation through renewable energy sources
- Y02E10/50—Photovoltaic [PV] energy
- Y02E10/548—Amorphous silicon PV cells
Landscapes
- Photovoltaic Devices (AREA)
Abstract
Description
【発明の詳細な説明】
（イ） 産業上の利用分野
本発明は、太陽電池、光センサなどの光起電力装置に関
する。DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (a) Industrial Application Field The present invention relates to photovoltaic devices such as solar cells and optical sensors.
（ロ） 従来技術
一般に 光起電力装置に代表される太陽電池の特性は、
開放電圧や短絡電流などのパラメータによって算出され
る変換効率によって評価されている。変換効率の向上に
は、前記パラメータの中でも特に開放電圧を高くするこ
とが重要である。(b) Prior art In general, the characteristics of solar cells represented by photovoltaic devices are as follows:
It is evaluated based on conversion efficiency calculated from parameters such as open circuit voltage and short circuit current. In order to improve conversion efficiency, it is especially important to increase the open circuit voltage among the above parameters.
従来、光電変換層としてｐ、１及びｎ層からなる太陽電
池においては、開放電圧を高くするために、第１の方法
として、前記光電変換層のｐ層と１層の各半導体の接触
界面にバッファ層を設けることによって、ｐ層からｉ層
への不純物拡散を防止し、さらにキャリア再結合の低減
を計るものや、第２の方法として、Ｐｒｏｃ、４ｔｈ
Ｉｎｋ、 Ｐｈｏｔｏｖｏｌｔａｉｃ ５ｃｉｅｎｃｅ
ａｎｄ Ｅｎｇｉｎｅｅｒｉｎｇ Ｃｏｎｆｅｒｅｎ
ｃｅ （Ｓｙｄｅｎｅｙ、 Ａｕ５ｔｒａｌｉａ、 １
９８９）ｐ、 ８５−８９に記載されているように１層
にバンドギャップの広い半導体を用いるもの、さらに第
３の方法として、ｉ層のバンドギャップを光入射側から
ｐ層にかけて連続して変化させた構造とするものなどが
ある。Conventionally, in solar cells consisting of p, 1, and n layers as photoelectric conversion layers, in order to increase the open circuit voltage, the first method is to add a layer at the contact interface between the p layer and each semiconductor layer of the photoelectric conversion layer. Proc.
Ink, Photovoltaic 5science
and Engineering Conference
ce (Sydeney, Au5tralia, 1
989) As described in p. 85-89, one layer uses a semiconductor with a wide band gap, and as a third method, the band gap of the i layer is continuously changed from the light incident side to the p layer. There are some that have a structure that is
（ハ）発明が解決しようとする課題 前述の各方法は、いずれも種々の問題がある。(c) Problems to be solved by the invention Each of the above-mentioned methods has various problems.
前記第１の方法では、いまだ開放電圧自体の向上が不十
分であり、前記第２及び第３の方法では、かかる方法を
用いることによる副作用として１層の光吸収係数が減少
することにより該１層における光吸収量が低下し、大Ｆ
Ｉ！、電池として取り出せる電流量が減少してしまう。In the first method, the open-circuit voltage itself is still insufficiently improved, and in the second and third methods, the light absorption coefficient of one layer decreases as a side effect of using such methods. The amount of light absorption in the layer decreases, and the large F
I! , the amount of current that can be taken out by the battery decreases.
本発明は、かかる課題に鑑み開放電圧を向上させるとと
もに、前記光電流の減少を防止しうる光起電力装置を提
供することにある。In view of this problem, the present invention provides a photovoltaic device that can improve the open circuit voltage and prevent the photocurrent from decreasing.
（ニ）課題を解決するための手段
本発明の光起電力装置の特徴とするところは、第１の導
電膜、ｐ型半導体層、光電変換層、ｎ型半導体層、第２
の導電膜、が順次積層され、前記光電変換層は互いに接
触し界面を形成する、第１の非晶質シリコン層と該第１
の非晶質シリコン層よりも光透過側に配置された第２の
非晶質シリコン層とを少なくとも有する半導体層、から
なる非晶質シリコン太陽電池において、前記第１の非晶
質シリコン層の水素原子量が、前記接触界面近傍におけ
る前記第２の非晶質シリコン層のそれよりも、２５％以
上多く、且つ前記第１の非晶質シリコン層中の、１個の
水素原子と結合したシリコン原子数に対する２個の水素
原子と結合したシリコン原子数の比が、０．５以下であ
ることにある。(d) Means for Solving the Problems The photovoltaic device of the present invention is characterized by a first conductive film, a p-type semiconductor layer, a photoelectric conversion layer, an n-type semiconductor layer, a second
a first amorphous silicon layer and a first amorphous silicon layer that are in contact with each other to form an interface.
an amorphous silicon solar cell comprising at least a second amorphous silicon layer disposed on the light transmitting side of the first amorphous silicon layer; Silicon whose hydrogen atomic weight is 25% or more greater than that of the second amorphous silicon layer near the contact interface, and which is bonded to one hydrogen atom in the first amorphous silicon layer. The ratio of the number of silicon atoms bonded to two hydrogen atoms to the number of atoms is 0.5 or less.
（ホ）作用
光電変換層の前記第２の非晶質シリコン層は、従来の光
電変換層の１層に相当するもので本発明による光起電力
装置においても 光電変換機能の主要部となる。斯る第
２の非晶質シリコン層に含まれる。水素量は、形成時の
成膜温度によっても変動するものの概ね１５〜２０ｚで
あり、かつバンドギャップ値はＴａｕｃ’ｓ ｐｌｏｔ
による計測によって通常１．６５〜１．７５ｅＶである
。本発明で採用する前記第１の非晶質シリコン層は、水
素量が従来の前記第２の非晶質シリコン膜よりもさらに
２５１以上と多く、かつ前記第１の非晶質シリコン層中
の、１個の水素原子と結合したシリコン原子数に対する
２個の水素原子と結合したシリコン原子数の比は、０．
５以下と小さい。(e) Function The second amorphous silicon layer of the photoelectric conversion layer corresponds to one layer of a conventional photoelectric conversion layer, and is also the main part of the photovoltaic conversion function in the photovoltaic device according to the present invention. It is included in the second amorphous silicon layer. The amount of hydrogen varies depending on the film formation temperature during formation, but is approximately 15 to 20z, and the band gap value is according to Tauc's plot.
It is usually 1.65 to 1.75 eV as measured by . The first amorphous silicon layer employed in the present invention has a hydrogen content as high as 251 or more compared to the conventional second amorphous silicon film, and , the ratio of the number of silicon atoms bonded to two hydrogen atoms to the number of silicon atoms bonded to one hydrogen atom is 0.
It is small, less than 5.
かような第１の非晶質シリコン層は、本質的に膜中の欠
陥密度も少なく良質なものであると言えるが、さらにバ
ンドギャップ値が、前記第２の非晶質シリコンと比較し
て１００〜２５０ｍｅＶあるいはそれ以上に大きくなり
、結局１．８５−２． ＯｅＶとなる。Although such a first amorphous silicon layer can be said to be of good quality with essentially a low defect density in the film, it also has a band gap value that is higher than that of the second amorphous silicon layer. It becomes 100 to 250 meV or more, and eventually becomes 1.85-2. It becomes OeV.
本発明は、このような第１の非晶質シリコン層を光入射
側より第２の非晶質シリコン層と互いに接触し界面を形
成せしめることによって、太陽電池の特性向上を行うも
のであるが、その原因については、まだ明確ではない。The present invention improves the characteristics of a solar cell by bringing such a first amorphous silicon layer into contact with a second amorphous silicon layer from the light incident side to form an interface. , the cause is still not clear.
しかしながら、発明者等はかかる界面を形成せしめるこ
とによって前記界面におけるバンドポテンシャル形状が
変化し、前記第２の非晶質シリコン層に加わる実質的な
電界強度が強くなる結果、開放電圧の増加が生じるもの
と考えている。However, the inventors discovered that by forming such an interface, the shape of the band potential at the interface changes, and the substantial electric field strength applied to the second amorphous silicon layer becomes stronger, resulting in an increase in open-circuit voltage. I think of it as something.
さらに、前述のように前記第１の非晶質シリコン層はバ
ンドギャップが大きいため光の吸収係数が小さくなるこ
とから、光が有効に前記第２の非晶質シリコン層に入射
することとなり、太陽電池の電流値増加を図ることも可
能となる。Furthermore, as described above, the first amorphous silicon layer has a large band gap and therefore has a small light absorption coefficient, so that light effectively enters the second amorphous silicon layer, It also becomes possible to increase the current value of the solar cell.
（へ） 実施例
第１図に本発明の実施例太陽電池断面図を示す（１）は
ガラスや石英からなる透光性絶縁基板、（２）は酸化イ
ンジュウムや酸化スズなどからなる第１の導電膜となる
透明導電膜、（３）は非晶質シリコン半導体を主体とす
るｐ型半導体層、（４）は光電変換層、（５）は非晶質
シリコンを主体とするｎ型半導体層、（６）はアルミニ
ュウムなどの金属膜からなる第２の導電膜である。さら
に光電変換層（４）は、３つの層から構成されており、
（４ａ）はバッファ層、（４ｂ）は本発明の特徴とする
第１の非晶質シリコン層、（４Ｃ）は従来からの膜特性
を有する第２の非晶質シリコン層である。(v) Embodiment Figure 1 shows a cross-sectional view of a solar cell according to an embodiment of the present invention. A transparent conductive film serving as a conductive film, (3) a p-type semiconductor layer mainly composed of amorphous silicon semiconductor, (4) a photoelectric conversion layer, and (5) an n-type semiconductor layer mainly composed of amorphous silicon. , (6) is a second conductive film made of a metal film such as aluminum. Furthermore, the photoelectric conversion layer (4) is composed of three layers,
(4a) is a buffer layer, (4b) is a first amorphous silicon layer that is a feature of the present invention, and (4C) is a second amorphous silicon layer that has conventional film characteristics.
以下に当該実施例の製造方法についてのべる。The manufacturing method of this example will be described below.
透光性絶縁基板（１）上にＩＴＯ（Ｉｎｄｉｕｍ Ｔｉ
ｎ ０ｘｉｄｅ）やＳｎｏｗなどによる膜を電子ビーム
法やスパッタ法などによって形成する。ITO (Indium Ti) is placed on the transparent insulating substrate (1).
A film of n 0 oxide), Snow, or the like is formed by an electron beam method, a sputtering method, or the like.
第１表
注）ｉｂは第１の非晶質シリコン層であり、１は第２の
非晶質シリコン層である。Table 1 Note: ib is the first amorphous silicon layer, and 1 is the second amorphous silicon layer.
各半導体層は、プラズマガス分解法によって形成された
もので、これらの代表的な反応条件を第１表にまとめて
示す。Each semiconductor layer was formed by a plasma gas decomposition method, and their typical reaction conditions are summarized in Table 1.
最後に第２の導電膜である金属膜を形成する。Finally, a metal film as a second conductive film is formed.
次に 実施例太陽電池における第１の非晶質シリコン層
（４ｂ）の膜厚に対する該太陽電池の開放電圧、短絡電
流、曲率因子、及び変換効率の変化を第２図に示す。同
図中、膜厚がゼロとは、第１の非晶質シリコン層（４ｂ
）を設けず、他は同様の構造で形成したことを意味する
ものである。Next, FIG. 2 shows changes in the open circuit voltage, short circuit current, curvature factor, and conversion efficiency of the solar cell of the example with respect to the film thickness of the first amorphous silicon layer (4b). In the figure, zero film thickness means that the first amorphous silicon layer (4b
) is not provided, and the other parts are formed with the same structure.
第１の非晶質シリコン層（４ｂ）を具備しない場合と比
較して、第１の非晶質シリコン層（４ｂ）の膜厚の増加
にともない開放電圧が漸増することが判る。具体的には
前記膜厚が、４００人の場合、開放電圧が０．８５Ｖか
ら０．８８Ｖと増加し、変換効率は９．５χから１０ｚ
へと向上した。第１の非晶質シリコン層（４ｂ）の膜厚
を４００人以上にすると曲率因子が漸減するが、これは
膜厚の増加により太陽電池の直列抵抗が増加するためで
ある。It can be seen that the open circuit voltage gradually increases as the thickness of the first amorphous silicon layer (4b) increases, compared to the case where the first amorphous silicon layer (4b) is not provided. Specifically, when the film thickness is 400 people, the open circuit voltage increases from 0.85V to 0.88V, and the conversion efficiency increases from 9.5χ to 10z
improved to. When the thickness of the first amorphous silicon layer (4b) is increased to 400 or more, the curvature factor gradually decreases, but this is because the series resistance of the solar cell increases as the thickness increases.
本発明者による実験では、第１の非晶質シリコン層の膜
厚が８００人までは前記開放電圧の向上は見られるが、
８０１以上では、前述の曲率因子が大きく減少してしま
うことが判った。このことから、本発明による太陽電池
では、第１の非晶質シリコン層の膜厚を好適には８００
λ以下とし、最適には４００λ以下とすることである。In experiments conducted by the present inventor, an improvement in the open circuit voltage can be seen when the thickness of the first amorphous silicon layer is up to 800 mm.
It has been found that the above-mentioned curvature factor decreases significantly when the diameter is 801 or more. Therefore, in the solar cell according to the present invention, the thickness of the first amorphous silicon layer is preferably 800 mm.
It should be less than λ, and optimally less than 400λ.
実施例としては、太陽電池を用いて説明したが、本発明
の構造によるものであれば、光センサなと光起電力装置
においても全く同様の効果を得ることができる。Although the embodiment has been explained using a solar cell, the same effect can be obtained in a photovoltaic device such as an optical sensor by using the structure of the present invention.
（ト） 発明の効果
本発明の光起電力装置においては、従来のものと比較し
て、開放電圧が増加し、変換効率の向上が計れる。さら
に、本発明による光起電力装置においては入射光を有効
に光電変換層内に導くことが可能となるために従来見ら
れた短絡電流の低下現象は生じない。(G) Effects of the Invention In the photovoltaic device of the present invention, the open-circuit voltage increases and the conversion efficiency can be improved compared to the conventional device. Furthermore, in the photovoltaic device according to the present invention, since it is possible to effectively guide incident light into the photoelectric conversion layer, the phenomenon of decrease in short circuit current that has been observed in the past does not occur.
第１図は本発明の太陽電池断面図、第２図は本発明の太
陽電池を構成する第１の非晶質シリコン層の膜厚に対す
る各パラメータ値の依存性を示す特性図である。FIG. 1 is a sectional view of the solar cell of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a characteristic diagram showing the dependence of each parameter value on the film thickness of the first amorphous silicon layer constituting the solar cell of the present invention.
Claims (1)
半導体層、第２の導電膜、が順次積層され、前記光電変
換層は互いに接触し界面を形成する、第１の非晶質シリ
コン層と該第１の非晶質シリコン層よりも光透過側に配
置された第２の非晶質シリコン層とを少なくとも有する
半導体層、からなる非晶質シリコン太陽電池において、
前記第１の非晶質シリコン層の水素原子量が、前記接触
界面近傍における前記第２の非晶質シリコン層のそれよ
りも、２５％以上多く、且つ前記第１の非晶質シリコン
層中の、１個の水素原子と結合したシリコン原子数に対
する２個の水素原子と結合したシリコン原子数の比が、
０．５以下であることを特徴とする光起電力装置。(1) A first conductive film, a p-type semiconductor layer, a photoelectric conversion layer, an n-type semiconductor layer, and a second conductive film are sequentially laminated, and the photoelectric conversion layers are in contact with each other to form an interface. An amorphous silicon solar cell comprising a semiconductor layer having at least an amorphous silicon layer and a second amorphous silicon layer disposed on the light transmission side of the first amorphous silicon layer,
The amount of hydrogen atoms in the first amorphous silicon layer is 25% or more greater than that in the second amorphous silicon layer near the contact interface, and , the ratio of the number of silicon atoms bonded to two hydrogen atoms to the number of silicon atoms bonded to one hydrogen atom is,
A photovoltaic device characterized in that the voltage is 0.5 or less.
Priority Applications (1)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| JP2141156A JPH0433378A (en) | 1990-05-29 | 1990-05-29 | Photovoltaic device |
Applications Claiming Priority (1)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| JP2141156A JPH0433378A (en) | 1990-05-29 | 1990-05-29 | Photovoltaic device |
Publications (1)
| Publication Number | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| JPH0433378A true JPH0433378A (en) | 1992-02-04 |
Family
ID=15285435
Family Applications (1)
| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| JP2141156A Pending JPH0433378A (en) | 1990-05-29 | 1990-05-29 | Photovoltaic device |
Country Status (1)
| Country | Link |
|---|---|
| JP (1) | JPH0433378A (en) |
Cited By (1)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US5719076A (en) * | 1996-04-24 | 1998-02-17 | United Solar Systems Corporation | Method for the manufacture of semiconductor devices with optimized hydrogen content |
-
1990
- 1990-05-29 JP JP2141156A patent/JPH0433378A/en active Pending
Cited By (1)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US5719076A (en) * | 1996-04-24 | 1998-02-17 | United Solar Systems Corporation | Method for the manufacture of semiconductor devices with optimized hydrogen content |
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