Modeling and simulation of heterojunction crystalline silicon solar cells with a nanocrystalline cubic silicon carbide emitter

Abstract

We have developed a simulation model for a heterojunction crystalline silicon (HJ-c-Si) solar cell with an n-type hydrogenated nanocrystalline cubic silicon carbide (nc-3C-SiC:H) emitter and a p-type hydrogenated microcrystalline silicon oxide back surface field layer. Analyses of experimentally obtained solar-cell performance using the simulation model indicate that the conversion efficiency of the solar cell is limited by the rear-surface recombination velocity (Sr) and acceptor concentration (NA) of the p-type c-Si base region. Simulation results indicate that a potential conversion efficiency of HJ-c-Si solar cells using n-type nc-3C-SiC:H emitters is approximately 23% when Sr, NA, and bulk lifetime of the p-type base are 10 cm/s, 2 × 1016 cm−3, and 1.0 × 10−3 s, respectively.