High-efficiency thin-film polycrystalline-silicon solar cells

Abstract

The deposition of a silicon film containing a p-n junction on a metallurgical silicon substrate has been used for the preparation of thin-film silicon solar cells. The substrate was prepared by the unidirectional solidification of purified metallurgical silicon on a graphite plate, and the silicon film was deposited by the thermal reduction of trichlorosilane with hydrogen containing appropriate dopants. Solar cells of the p+/n/n+-metallurgical silicon/graphite configuration have been prepared, and the AM1 efficiencies of 9–10 cm2 area cells are up to 9.5%