Abstract
Recently, microcrystalline silicon μc-Si:H) has become a very attractive material for thin film solar cells because it is seen as a materials system that is fully compatible with the thin film technology presently used for amorphous silicon. In addition to the advantages of this technology, i.e. low temperature processes on large areas with little material consumption on foreign substrates, μc-Si:H provides the extended spectral response of crystalline silicon to the near infrared region. Due to the indirect band gap of this material, the thickness of μc-Si:H absorber layer has to be in the micrometer range for sufficient carrier generation, even when using light trapping schemes. However, light induced metastability, which is a critical issue for amorphous silicon solar cells, seems not to be a problem in this material.
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Carius, R. (2002). Structural And Optical Properties Of Microcrystalline Silicon For Solar Cell Applications. In: Marshall, J.M., Dimova-Malinovska, D. (eds) Photovoltaic and Photoactive Materials — Properties, Technology and Applications. NATO Science Series, vol 80. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-010-0632-3_5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-010-0632-3_5
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
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