High-Rate Preparation of Amorphous-Silicon Solar Cells with Monosilane

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Abstract
Hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) films produced from monosilane (SiH4) at high deposition rates of 10-30 Å/s were studied. The p-i-n solar cells using these films as i-layers were fabricated with emphasis on the effect of light boron-doping during the i-layer deposition and the buffer i-layer at the p/i interface prepared at a lower deposition rate to minimize the interfacial damage from high-energy charged particles. By optimizing this buffer i-layer, a conversion efficiency of 9.1 % under AM1 (100/mW/cm2) illumination was obtained at a deposition rate of 10 Å/s. This high efficiency shows that the buffer i-layer at the p/i interface, prepared at a low deposition rate, is significant for the high-rate preparation of high-performance a-Si:H solar cells.