WO2003017384A1 - Method and apparatus for fabricating a thin-film solar cell utilizing a hot wire chemical vapor deposition technique - Google Patents

Method and apparatus for fabricating a thin-film solar cell utilizing a hot wire chemical vapor deposition technique Download PDF

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Publication number
WO2003017384A1
WO2003017384A1 PCT/US2001/025659 US0125659W WO03017384A1 WO 2003017384 A1 WO2003017384 A1 WO 2003017384A1 US 0125659 W US0125659 W US 0125659W WO 03017384 A1 WO03017384 A1 WO 03017384A1
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Prior art keywords
solar cell
seem
layer
thin film
film solar
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PCT/US2001/025659
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French (fr)
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Qi Wang
Eugene Iwaniczko
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Midwest Research Institute
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Priority to PCT/US2001/025659 priority Critical patent/WO2003017384A1/en
Priority to US10/485,715 priority patent/US7122736B2/en
Publication of WO2003017384A1 publication Critical patent/WO2003017384A1/en

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    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01L—SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES NOT COVERED BY CLASS H10
    • H01L31/00—Semiconductor devices sensitive to infrared radiation, light, electromagnetic radiation of shorter wavelength or corpuscular radiation and specially adapted either for the conversion of the energy of such radiation into electrical energy or for the control of electrical energy by such radiation; Processes or apparatus specially adapted for the manufacture or treatment thereof or of parts thereof; Details thereof
    • H01L31/04—Semiconductor devices sensitive to infrared radiation, light, electromagnetic radiation of shorter wavelength or corpuscular radiation and specially adapted either for the conversion of the energy of such radiation into electrical energy or for the control of electrical energy by such radiation; Processes or apparatus specially adapted for the manufacture or treatment thereof or of parts thereof; Details thereof adapted as photovoltaic [PV] conversion devices
    • H01L31/06—Semiconductor devices sensitive to infrared radiation, light, electromagnetic radiation of shorter wavelength or corpuscular radiation and specially adapted either for the conversion of the energy of such radiation into electrical energy or for the control of electrical energy by such radiation; Processes or apparatus specially adapted for the manufacture or treatment thereof or of parts thereof; Details thereof adapted as photovoltaic [PV] conversion devices characterised by at least one potential-jump barrier or surface barrier
    • H01L31/075—Semiconductor devices sensitive to infrared radiation, light, electromagnetic radiation of shorter wavelength or corpuscular radiation and specially adapted either for the conversion of the energy of such radiation into electrical energy or for the control of electrical energy by such radiation; Processes or apparatus specially adapted for the manufacture or treatment thereof or of parts thereof; Details thereof adapted as photovoltaic [PV] conversion devices characterised by at least one potential-jump barrier or surface barrier the potential barriers being only of the PIN type
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01L—SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES NOT COVERED BY CLASS H10
    • H01L31/00—Semiconductor devices sensitive to infrared radiation, light, electromagnetic radiation of shorter wavelength or corpuscular radiation and specially adapted either for the conversion of the energy of such radiation into electrical energy or for the control of electrical energy by such radiation; Processes or apparatus specially adapted for the manufacture or treatment thereof or of parts thereof; Details thereof
    • H01L31/04—Semiconductor devices sensitive to infrared radiation, light, electromagnetic radiation of shorter wavelength or corpuscular radiation and specially adapted either for the conversion of the energy of such radiation into electrical energy or for the control of electrical energy by such radiation; Processes or apparatus specially adapted for the manufacture or treatment thereof or of parts thereof; Details thereof adapted as photovoltaic [PV] conversion devices
    • H01L31/054—Optical elements directly associated or integrated with the PV cell, e.g. light-reflecting means or light-concentrating means
    • H01L31/056—Optical elements directly associated or integrated with the PV cell, e.g. light-reflecting means or light-concentrating means the light-reflecting means being of the back surface reflector [BSR] type
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01L—SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES NOT COVERED BY CLASS H10
    • H01L31/00—Semiconductor devices sensitive to infrared radiation, light, electromagnetic radiation of shorter wavelength or corpuscular radiation and specially adapted either for the conversion of the energy of such radiation into electrical energy or for the control of electrical energy by such radiation; Processes or apparatus specially adapted for the manufacture or treatment thereof or of parts thereof; Details thereof
    • H01L31/18—Processes or apparatus specially adapted for the manufacture or treatment of these devices or of parts thereof
    • H01L31/20—Processes or apparatus specially adapted for the manufacture or treatment of these devices or of parts thereof such devices or parts thereof comprising amorphous semiconductor materials
    • H01L31/202—Processes or apparatus specially adapted for the manufacture or treatment of these devices or of parts thereof such devices or parts thereof comprising amorphous semiconductor materials including only elements of Group IV of the Periodic System
    • H01L31/204—Processes or apparatus specially adapted for the manufacture or treatment of these devices or of parts thereof such devices or parts thereof comprising amorphous semiconductor materials including only elements of Group IV of the Periodic System including AIVBIV alloys, e.g. SiGe, SiC
    • 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
    • Y02E10/52—PV systems with concentrators
    • 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
    • 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
    • Y02P—CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES IN THE PRODUCTION OR PROCESSING OF GOODS
    • Y02P70/00—Climate change mitigation technologies in the production process for final industrial or consumer products
    • Y02P70/50—Manufacturing or production processes characterised by the final manufactured product

Definitions

  • This invention relates generally to a thin-film solar cell and, more particularly, it relates to an apparatus and process to fabricate an a-SiGe:H 1.6 eV optical gap n-i-p solar cell at a deposition rate often (10) A/s for the a-SiGe:H intrinsic layer using hydrogen dilution by the hot-wire chemical vapor deposition (CVD) technique.
  • Background Art
  • Photovoltaic devices i.e., solar cells
  • the energy conversion occurs as the result of what is known as the photovoltaic effect.
  • Solar radiation impinging on a solar cell and absorbed by an active region of semiconductor material generates electricity.
  • a-SiGe:H Hydrogenated amorphous silicon-germanium alloy
  • a-SiGe:H alloy accounts for over half the materials in most commercial multi-junction amorphous silicon thin film solar cells, a- SiGe:H has been used in the tandem and triple-junction solar cells to improve the red response.
  • a-SiGe:H alloy has poorer electronic properties than a-Si:H because of higher defect densities, weaker hydrogen bonds and other structural defects. This problem is more pronounced for low bandgap a-SiGe:H alloy with Ge content greater than 50%.
  • the cost of germane gas is high.
  • Deposition rate is one of the important factors to increase the throughput and reduce the capital cost for PN production.
  • the deposition rate of the photoactive material onto the substrate has been, typically, approximately one (1) A/second or less with a typical ten (10%) percent stable efficiency for a-Si:H solar cells. It is even more crucial for a-SiGe:H because of the large amount of materials used in the solar cells.
  • the best a-Si:H based solar cells are made at the deposition rate about 1 A/s. Up to date, the properties of the high deposition rate (greater than 1 A/s) materials remain inferior to the one at 1 A/s. The efficiency of the high rate solar cells, as a consequence, is lower than the ones at 1 A/s.
  • the time to manufacture the solar cell increases the cost of manufacture thereby increasing the cost to the ultimate user.
  • an efficient high deposition rate will be required.
  • the present invention is a thin-film solar cell.
  • the thin-film solar cell comprises an a- SiGe:H (1.6 eV) n-i-p solar cell having a deposition rate of at least ten (10) A/second for the a- SiGe:H intrinsic layer by a hot wire chemical vapor deposition technique.
  • the present invention additionally includes a method for fabricating a thin film solar cell. The method comprises depositing an n-i-p layer at a deposition rate of at least ten (10) A/second for the a-SiGe:H intrinsic layer.
  • the present invention further includes means for depositing an a-SiGe:H intrinsic layer at a deposition rate of at least ten (10) A/second.
  • FIG. 1 is a top schematic view of a T-system for fabricating a thin film solar cell utilizing a hot wire chemical vapor deposition technique, constructed in accordance with the present invention
  • Figure 2 is an exploded view of the n p chamber and the i-chamber of the T-system of Figure 1 for fabricating the thin film solar cell utilizing a hot wire chemical vapor deposition technique, constructed in accordance with the present invention
  • Figure 3 is a sectional view of the thin film solar cell utilizing a hot wire chemical vapor deposition technique of Figure 1, constructed in accordance with the present invention
  • Figure 4 is a table of the variables in the optimization process of the present invention.
  • Figure 5 is a table of the best parameters of the process of the present invention with the i-layer having three layers, namely, the first layer, the second layer, and the third layer;
  • Figure 6 is schematic view of the graded a-SiGe:H i-layer in the solar cell, constructed in accordance with the present invention. Best Mode for Carrying Out the Invention
  • the present invention is a process to fabricate a high deposition rate a-SiGe:H (1.6 eN) n-i-p solar cell 10 (as illustrated in Figure 3) at a deposition rate of approximately ten (10) A/second for the a-SiGe:H intrinsic layer using hydrogen dilution by the hot-wire chemical vapor deposition technique (as illustrated in Figure 1).
  • the inventors of the present application have found the optimal process parameters for constructing the a-SiGe:H (1.6 eV) n-i-p solar cell 10 that significantly reduces cost and increase throughput for a-Si solar cells 10.
  • the inventors of the invention of the present application have found that in constructing the a-SiGe:H (1.6 eV) n-i-p solar cell 10, the maximum power (P max ) after 530 run cut-off filter has been above four (4) m W/cm 2 . This means that the solar cell 10 will contribute more than four (4%) percent efficiency in the tandem or triple junction a-Si:H solar cell 10. With conventional solar cells, the best P max after 530 nm cut-off filter of a-SiGe:H solar cell is just over five (5) mW/cm 2 at one (1) A/second, and about four (4) mW/cm 2 for three (3) and six (6) A/second.
  • the solar cell 10 of the present invention offers significant improvement over conventional solar cells in deposition rate and efficiency thereby reducing the costs in construction of the solar cell 10.
  • one chamber (i-chamber) 18 is only used to grow the a-SiGe :H intrinsic layer; the other chamber (dopant chamber) 16 is used to grow doped layers.
  • a spiral tungsten (W) wire 22 with a diameter of approximately 0.5 mm is positioned approximately 5 cm below the heated substrate.
  • a heater 30 can be mounted to or placed in contact with the substrate 26.
  • the tungsten filament 22 is heated to about 2100°C by using an AC current.
  • a process gas 20 preferably consisting of SiH 4 , GeH 4 , and H 2 passes by the hot filament 22, dissociates, and leads to Si/Ge/H deposition on the substrate 26.
  • a load-lock system 14 see Figure 1
  • the substrate 26 can be transported between two chambers 16 and 18 and minimizing the cross contamination in solar cell fabrication.
  • the single junction solar cell 10 of the present invention has a structure of gl TCO/p-i-n/Ag or SS/Ag/n-i-p/TCO.
  • the TCO layer 26 is a transparent conducting oxide layer comprising, for instance, ZnO, indium tin oxide (ITO), or SnO 2 . Tandem and triple-junction solar cells 10 are also within the scope of the present invention by adding additional p-i-n layers 28 or n-i-p layers 28, respectively.
  • n-layer The optimum deposition parameters for the n-layer, the i-layer, and the p-layer are as follows: n-layer:
  • the present invention is a high performance 1.6 eV solar cell 10 having an active layer deposited by hot wire chemical vapor deposition at a rate often (10) A/s.
  • a power output of 4.2 mW/cm 2 was measured through a 530 nm long pass filter.
  • the double-junction solar cell 10 can exhibit an initial 11.7% and stable 9.6% active-area efficiency thereby allowing fabrication of high-efficiency amorphous silicon solar cells 10 at higher deposition rates, an important result for low-cost production of PN modules.

Abstract

A thin-film solar cell is provided. The thin-film solar cell comprises an a-SiGe:H (1.6eV) n-i-p solar cell having a deposition rate of at least ten (10) Å/second for the a-SiGe:H intrinsic layer by hot wire chemical vapor deposition. A method for fabricating a thin film solar cell is also provided. The method comprises depositing a n-i-p layer at a deposition rate of at least ten (10) Å/second for the a-SiGe:H intrinsic layer.

Description

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR FABRICATING A THIN-FILM SOLAR CELL UTILIZING A HOT WIRE CHEMICAL VAPOR DEPOSITION
TECHNIQUE
Contractual Origin of the Invention
The United States Government has rights in this invention under Contract No. DE- AC36-99GO10337 between the United States Department of Energy and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, a division of the Midwest Research Institute. Technical Field
This invention relates generally to a thin-film solar cell and, more particularly, it relates to an apparatus and process to fabricate an a-SiGe:H 1.6 eV optical gap n-i-p solar cell at a deposition rate often (10) A/s for the a-SiGe:H intrinsic layer using hydrogen dilution by the hot-wire chemical vapor deposition (CVD) technique. Background Art
With concerns about rising fuel costs, energy security, statewide brownouts, and demand surges that exceed electrical supply, solar electric systems are needed to meet a greater share of energy needs. Photovoltaic devices, i.e., solar cells, are capable of converting solar radiation into usable electrical energy. The energy conversion occurs as the result of what is known as the photovoltaic effect. Solar radiation impinging on a solar cell and absorbed by an active region of semiconductor material generates electricity.
In recent years, technologies relating to thin-film solar cells have been advanced to realize inexpensive and lightweight solar cells and, therefore, thinner solar cells manufactured with less material have been demanded. This is especially true in the space industry with the solar cells powering satellites and other space vehicles.
The current state of the art in solar cell design is to deposit a photoactive material onto a substrate. Hydrogenated amorphous silicon-germanium (a-SiGe:H) alloy accounts for over half the materials in most commercial multi-junction amorphous silicon thin film solar cells, a- SiGe:H has been used in the tandem and triple-junction solar cells to improve the red response. However, a-SiGe:H alloy has poorer electronic properties than a-Si:H because of higher defect densities, weaker hydrogen bonds and other structural defects. This problem is more pronounced for low bandgap a-SiGe:H alloy with Ge content greater than 50%. In addition, the cost of germane gas is high. Narious techniques have been tried to improve the property of the a-SiGe:H alloy. Growing a-SiGe:H alloy near the threshold of microcrystallinity using hydrogen dilution at low deposition rate (~1 A/s) by rf plasma-enhanced CND (PECVD) and applied graded alloy layers were two of many techniques that have significantly improved a-SiGe:H solar cell performance. Despite the recent development of a microcrystalline silicon (μc-Si) solar cell and its potential of replacing a-SiGe:H materials, a-SiGe:H solar cell exhibits higher open circuit voltage (Voc), a tunable bandgap, and potential for further improvement. With these considerations, a-SiGe:H alloys are still considered as promising materials for use in commercial a-Si:H based solar cells fabrications.
Deposition rate is one of the important factors to increase the throughput and reduce the capital cost for PN production. The deposition rate of the photoactive material onto the substrate has been, typically, approximately one (1) A/second or less with a typical ten (10%) percent stable efficiency for a-Si:H solar cells. It is even more crucial for a-SiGe:H because of the large amount of materials used in the solar cells. The best a-Si:H based solar cells are made at the deposition rate about 1 A/s. Up to date, the properties of the high deposition rate (greater than 1 A/s) materials remain inferior to the one at 1 A/s. The efficiency of the high rate solar cells, as a consequence, is lower than the ones at 1 A/s.
Accordingly, the time to manufacture the solar cell increases the cost of manufacture thereby increasing the cost to the ultimate user. In the very near future, to further increase the volume of production of solar cells to meet the high demand, an efficient high deposition rate will be required.
Accordingly, there exists a need for a thin- film solar cell fabricated with a high deposition rate. Additionally, a need exists for a thin-film solar cell with a high deposition rate and increased efficiency. Furthermore, there exists a need for a thin-film solar cell fabricated with a high deposition rate utilizing a hot wire chemical vapor deposition technique with optimum parameters to achieve efficient high deposition rates of approximately ten (10) A/ second. Disclosure of Invention
The present invention is a thin-film solar cell. The thin-film solar cell comprises an a- SiGe:H (1.6 eV) n-i-p solar cell having a deposition rate of at least ten (10) A/second for the a- SiGe:H intrinsic layer by a hot wire chemical vapor deposition technique. The present invention additionally includes a method for fabricating a thin film solar cell. The method comprises depositing an n-i-p layer at a deposition rate of at least ten (10) A/second for the a-SiGe:H intrinsic layer.
The present invention further includes means for depositing an a-SiGe:H intrinsic layer at a deposition rate of at least ten (10) A/second. Brief Description of Drawings
The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and form a part of the specification, illustrate the preferred embodiments of the present invention, and together with the descriptions serve to explain the principles of the invention.
Figure 1 is a top schematic view of a T-system for fabricating a thin film solar cell utilizing a hot wire chemical vapor deposition technique, constructed in accordance with the present invention;
Figure 2 is an exploded view of the n p chamber and the i-chamber of the T-system of Figure 1 for fabricating the thin film solar cell utilizing a hot wire chemical vapor deposition technique, constructed in accordance with the present invention;
Figure 3 is a sectional view of the thin film solar cell utilizing a hot wire chemical vapor deposition technique of Figure 1, constructed in accordance with the present invention;
Figure 4 is a table of the variables in the optimization process of the present invention;
Figure 5 is a table of the best parameters of the process of the present invention with the i-layer having three layers, namely, the first layer, the second layer, and the third layer; and
Figure 6 is schematic view of the graded a-SiGe:H i-layer in the solar cell, constructed in accordance with the present invention. Best Mode for Carrying Out the Invention
As illustrated in Figure 1, the present invention is a process to fabricate a high deposition rate a-SiGe:H (1.6 eN) n-i-p solar cell 10 (as illustrated in Figure 3) at a deposition rate of approximately ten (10) A/second for the a-SiGe:H intrinsic layer using hydrogen dilution by the hot-wire chemical vapor deposition technique (as illustrated in Figure 1). The inventors of the present application have found the optimal process parameters for constructing the a-SiGe:H (1.6 eV) n-i-p solar cell 10 that significantly reduces cost and increase throughput for a-Si solar cells 10. The inventors of the invention of the present application have found that in constructing the a-SiGe:H (1.6 eV) n-i-p solar cell 10, the maximum power (Pmax) after 530 run cut-off filter has been above four (4) m W/cm2. This means that the solar cell 10 will contribute more than four (4%) percent efficiency in the tandem or triple junction a-Si:H solar cell 10. With conventional solar cells, the best Pmax after 530 nm cut-off filter of a-SiGe:H solar cell is just over five (5) mW/cm2 at one (1) A/second, and about four (4) mW/cm2 for three (3) and six (6) A/second. The solar cell 10 of the present invention offers significant improvement over conventional solar cells in deposition rate and efficiency thereby reducing the costs in construction of the solar cell 10.
In this two-chamber load- locked system 14, one chamber (i-chamber) 18 is only used to grow the a-SiGe :H intrinsic layer; the other chamber (dopant chamber) 16 is used to grow doped layers. As shown in Figure 2, a spiral tungsten (W) wire 22 with a diameter of approximately 0.5 mm is positioned approximately 5 cm below the heated substrate. A heater 30 can be mounted to or placed in contact with the substrate 26. The tungsten filament 22 is heated to about 2100°C by using an AC current. A process gas 20 preferably consisting of SiH4, GeH4, and H2 passes by the hot filament 22, dissociates, and leads to Si/Ge/H deposition on the substrate 26. With the aid of a load-lock system 14 (see Figure 1), the substrate 26 can be transported between two chambers 16 and 18 and minimizing the cross contamination in solar cell fabrication.
As illustrated in Figure 3, the single junction solar cell 10 of the present invention has a structure of gl TCO/p-i-n/Ag or SS/Ag/n-i-p/TCO. The TCO layer 26 is a transparent conducting oxide layer comprising, for instance, ZnO, indium tin oxide (ITO), or SnO2. Tandem and triple-junction solar cells 10 are also within the scope of the present invention by adding additional p-i-n layers 28 or n-i-p layers 28, respectively.
The Ge concentration in the film, substrate temperature, hydrogen dilution, multi-step i- layer, chamber pressure, and deposition time has been varied in the optimization process to focus on achieving the ten (10) A/second deposition rate a-SiGe:H. The inventors of the present application have discovered that the hydrogen dilution and multi-step i-layer are the key variables that lead to improve the solar cell 10 efficiency. For the a-SiGe:H i-layer materials with a deposition rate greater than ten (10) A/ second, multiple filaments, higher SiH4 flow rate, higher pressure, and higher filament current will be used. Figure 4, table 1, lists the variables in the optimization process. Figure 5, table 2, illustrates the best parameters of the process. As illustrated therein, the i-layer has three layers, namely, the first layer, the second layer, and the third layer. Figure 6 illustrates the graded a- SiGe:H i-layer of the solar cell 10.
The optimum deposition parameters for the n-layer, the i-layer, and the p-layer are as follows: n-layer:
Tsub (°C): 250
SiH4 flow rate (seem): 25
5% H2 PH3 flow rate (seem): 5
Pressure (mT): 12
Deposition time (sec): 60
Filament current (A): 16 i-laver:
See Table 2. p-laver:
Tsub (°C): 170
SiH4 flow rate (seem): 3
H2 flow rate (seem): 100
TMB flow rate (seem): 6
Pressure (mT): 70
Deposition time (sec): 50
Filament current (A): 16
With the solar cell 10 of the present invention utilizing the above parameters, the best cell performance after 530 nm cut-off filter is VOC=0.770 V, FF=0.677, Jsc=8.08 mA cm2, and Pmzx=4.21 mW/cm2. This achieves an efficient high deposition rate solar cell with a deposition rate of approximately ten (10) A/second.
In conclusion, the present invention is a high performance 1.6 eV solar cell 10 having an active layer deposited by hot wire chemical vapor deposition at a rate often (10) A/s. A power output of 4.2 mW/cm2 was measured through a 530 nm long pass filter. The double-junction solar cell 10 can exhibit an initial 11.7% and stable 9.6% active-area efficiency thereby allowing fabrication of high-efficiency amorphous silicon solar cells 10 at higher deposition rates, an important result for low-cost production of PN modules.
The foregoing exemplary descriptions and the illustrative preferred embodiments of the present invention have been explained in the drawings and described in detail, with varying modifications and alternative embodiments being taught. While the invention has been so shown, described and illustrated, it should be understood by those skilled in the art that equivalent changes in form and detail may be made therein without departing from the true spirit and scope of the invention, and that the scope of the present invention is to be limited only to the claims except as precluded by the prior art. Moreover, the invention as disclosed herein, may be suitably practiced in the absence of the specific elements which are disclosed herein.

Claims

Claims The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property or privilege is claimed are defined as follows:
1. A thin film solar cell, the thin film solar cell comprising: an a-SiGe:H (1.6 eN) n-i-p solar cell having a deposition rate of at least ten (10) A/second for the a-SiGe:H intrinsic layer by hot wire chemical vapor deposition.
2. The thin film solar cell of claim 1, wherein the intrinsic layer has a first layer, a second layer, and a third layer.
3. The thin film solar cell of claim 2, wherein the first layer of the intrinsic layer has the following characteristics:
Tsub (°C): 300
SiH4 flow rate (seem): 50
GeH4 (seem): 0
Ge/Si ratio (%): 0
H2 (seem): 150
Pressure (mT): 42
Deposition time (sec): 90
Filament current (A): 16
4. The thin film solar cell of claim 2, wherein the second layer of the intrinsic layer has the following characteristics:
Tsub (°C): 300
SiH4 flow rate (seem): 50
GeH4 (seem): 4.3
Ge/Si ratio (%): 8
H2 (seem): 150
Pressure (mT): 43
Deposition time (sec): 90
Filament current (A): 16
5. The thin film solar cell of claim 2, wherein the third layer of the intrinsic layer has the following characteristics:
Tsub (°C): 300 SiH4 flow rate (seem): 50
GeH4 (seem): 9.5
Ge/Si ratio (%): 16
H2 (seem): 150
Pressure (mT): 45
Deposition time (sec): 90
Filament current (A): 16
6. The thin film solar cell of claim 1, \
Tsub (°C): 250
SiH4 flow rate (seem): 25
PH3 flow rate (seem): 5
Pressure (mT): 12
Deposition time (sec): 60
Filament current (A): 16
7. The thin film solar cell of claim 1, wherein the p-layer has the following characteristics: Tsub (°C): 170
SiH4 flow rate (seem): 3
H2 flow rate (seem) : 100
TMB flow rate (seem): 6
Pressure (mT): 70
Deposition time (sec): 50
Filament current (A): 16
8. The thin film solar cell of claim 1, wherein the a-SiGe:H (1.6 eV) n-i-p solar cell has a deposition efficiency of at least four (4%) percent in multi-junction solar cells.
9. The thin film solar cell of claim 1, wherein the n-i-p layer is deposited using a hot wire chemical vapor deposition technique.
10. The thin film solar cell of claim 9, wherein the chemical vapor is selected from the group consisting of SiH4, GeH4 and H2.
11. The thin film solar cell of claim 9, wherein the hot wire is a 2100° C W filament spaced approximately five (5) cm from a substrate to decompose the chemical vapor.
12. The thin film solar cell of claim 1, wherein the a-SiGe:H (1.6 eN) n-i-p solar cell has a configuration selected from the group consisting of gl/TCO/p-i-n/Ag and SS/Ag/n-i-p/TCO.
13. The thin film solar cell of claim 1, and further comprising: a transparent conducting oxide layer selected from the group consisting of ZnO, indium tin oxide (ITO), and SnO2.
14. The thin film solar cell of claim 1 wherein the a-SiGe:H (1.6 eN) n-i-p solar cell is a multi-junction a-Si:H solar cell.
15. A method for fabricating a thin film solar cell, the method comprising: depositing a n-i-p layer at a deposition rate of at least ten (10) A/second for the a-SiGe:H intrinsic layer.
16. The method of claim 15 wherein the intrinsic layer has a first layer, a second layer, and a third layer, in such order after the n-layer.
17. The method of claim 16, wherein the first layer of the intrinsic layer has the following characteristics:
Tsub (°C): 300
SiH4 flow rate (seem): 50
GeH4 (seem): 0
Ge/Si ratio (%): 0
H2 (seem): 150
Pressure (mT): 42
Deposition time (sec): 90
Filament current (A): 16
18. The method of claim 16, wherein the second layer of the intrinsic layer has the following characteristics:
Tsub (°C): 300
SiH4 flow rate (seem): 50
GeH4 (seem): 4.
Ge/Si ratio (%): 8
H2 (seem): 150
Pressure (mT): 43
Deposition time (sec): 90 Filament current (A): 16
19. The method of claim 16, wherein the third layer of the intrinsic layer has the following characteristics:
Tsub (°C): 300
SiH4 flow rate (seem): 50
GeH4 (seem): 9.5
Ge/Si ratio (%): 16
H2 (seem): 150
Pressure (mT): 45
Deposition time (sec): 90
Filament current (A): 16
20. The method of claim 15, wherein the n-layer has the following characteristics: Tsub (°C): 250
SiH4 flow rate (seem): 25
PH3 flow rate (seem): 5
Pressure (mT): 12
Deposition time (sec): 60
Filament current (A): 16
21. The method of claim 15 , wherein the p-layer has the following characteristics : Tsub (°C): 170
SiH4 flow rate (seem): 3
H2 flow rate (seem): 100
TMB flow rate (seem): 6
Pressure (mT): 70
Deposition time (sec): 50
Filament current (A): 16
22. The method of claim 15, and further comprising: depositing the a-SiGe:H intrinsic layer at an efficiency of at least four (4%) percent in multi-junction solar cells.
23. The method of claim 15, and further comprising: depositing the n-i-p layer using a hot wire chemical vapor deposition technique.
24. The method of claim 23, wherein the chemical vapor is selected from the group consisting of SiH4, GeH4, and H2.
25. The method of claim 23, wherein the hot wire is a tungsten filament having a temperature of approximately 2100° C and spaced approximately five (5) cm from a substrate to decompose the chemical vapor.
26. A thin film solar cell, the thin film solar cell comprising: means for depositing an a-SiGe:H intrinsic layer at a deposition rate of at least ten (10) A/second.
27. The thin film solar cell of claim 26, wherein the means for depositing is a hot wire chemical vapor deposition technique.
28. The thin film solar cell of claim 27, wherein the chemical vapor is selected from the group consisting of SiH4, GeH4, and H2.
29. The thin film solar cell of claim 27, wherein the hot wire is a tungsten filament having a temperature of approximately 2100° C spaced approximately five (5) cm from a substrate to decompose the chemical vapor.
30. The thin film solar cell of claim 26, wherein the intrinsic layer has a first layer, a second layer, and a third layer.
31. The thin film solar cell of claim 30, wherein the first layer of the intrinsic layer has the following characteristics:
Tsub (°C): 300
SiH4 flow rate (seem): 50
GeH4 (seem): 0
Ge/Si ratio (%): 0
H2 (seem): 1 0
Pressure (mT): 42
Deposition time (sec): 90
Filament current (A): 16
32. The thin film solar cell of claim 30, wherein the second layer of the intrinsic layer has the following characteristics:
Tsub (°C): 300
SiH4 flow rate (seem): 50
GeH4 (seem): 4.3
Ge/Si ratio (%): 8
H2 (seem): 150
Pressure (mT): 43
Deposition time (sec): 90
Filament current (A): 16
33. The thin film solar cell of claim 30, wherein the third layer of the intrinsic layer has the following characteristics:
Tsub (°C): 300
SiH4 flow rate (seem): 50
GeH4 (seem): 9.5
Ge/Si ratio (%): 16
H2 (seem): 150
Pressure (mT): 45
Deposition time (sec): 90
Filament current (A): 16
34. The thin film solar cell of claim 26, wherein the n-layer has the following characteristics
Tsub (°C): 250
SiH4 flow rate (seem): 25
PH3 flow rate (seem): 5
Pressure (mT): 12
Deposition time (sec): 60
Filament current (A): 16
35. The thin film solar cell of claim 26, wherein the p-layer has the following characteristics
Tsub (°C): 170
SiH4 flow rate (seem): 3
H2 flow rate (seem): 100 TMB flow rate (seem): 6
Pressure (mT): 70
Deposition time (sec): 50
Filament current (A): 16
36. The thin film solar cell of claim 26, wherein the a-SiGe:H (1.6 eV) n-i-p solar cell has a deposition efficiency of at least four (4%) percent in multi-junction solar cells.
37. The thin film solar cell of claim 26, wherein the a-SiGe:H (1.6 eV) n-i-p solar cell has a configuration selected from the group consisting of gl/TCO/p-i-n/Ag and SS/Ag/n-i-p/TCO.
38. The thin film solar cell of claim 26, and further comprising: a transparent conducting oxide layer selected from the group consisting of ZnO, indium tin oxide (ITO), and SnO2.
39. The thin film solar cell of claim 26 wherein the a-SiGe:H (1.6 eN) n-i-p solar cell is a tandem or triple junction a-Si:H solar cell.
PCT/US2001/025659 2001-08-16 2001-08-16 Method and apparatus for fabricating a thin-film solar cell utilizing a hot wire chemical vapor deposition technique WO2003017384A1 (en)

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