Abstract
From solar cell application point of view, this chapter reviews the aspects of hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) based materials. Spear and LeComer made the first a-Si:H films with glow discharge by decomposing hydrogen containing gases such as SiH4, in which hydrogen atoms terminate the Si dangling bonds and reduce the defect density significantly. The reduction of defect density lead to the possibility of doping a-Si:H to form N-type and P-type films and made it possible to make p-n junction, which is the foundation of thin film silicon-based electronic devices such as solar cells and thin film transistors. Since then several methods have been developed to deposit a-Si:H materials and devices. From solar cells point of view, a-Si:H is one of the useful materials with several unique properties: (1) high absorption coefficients in the visible range allowing to use a thin absorber layer, (2) large area uniform deposition for low-cost mass productions, and (3) deposition on various foreign substrates for rigid and flexible solar modules. The main disadvantage of a-Si:H is the lower carriers mobility and lifetime than the crystal copartners, which result in the lower energy conversation efficiency in a-Si:H solar cells than c-Si solar cells. In addition, the so-called Staebler-Wronski effect causes a light-induced degradation in a-Si:H solar cell efficiency. Over the years, a-Si:H science and technology have been very well developed driving by the applications in thin film silicon photovoltaic (PV) solar energy and large area display industries. In the PV applications, a-Si:H solar cell has been one of the most important technologies for the so-called second-generation PV solar energy. However, with the significant cost reduction of poly-Si and c-Si solar panels in the last few years, a-Si:H PV industry has been shrunk to the sideline and can only provide products in the niche market. Fortunately, new application as the surface passivation layer on c-Si to form a-Si:H/c-Si heterojunction solar cells gives a-Si:H a new life in the PV industry.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.
References
D. Adler, J. Phys. 42, C4–C3 (1981)
P.W. Anderson, Phys. Rev. 109, 1492 (1958)
G. Bauer, C. Neder, M. Schubert, G. Schumm, Mater. Res. Soc. Symp. Proc. 149, 485 (1989)
A.C.W. Biebericher, A.R. Burgers, C. Devilee, W.J. Soppe, Proc. of 19th European Photovoltaic Solar Energy Conference (Paris, 2004), p. 1485
H.M. Branz, Solid State Commun. 105, 387 (1998)
N.M. Branz, Sol. Energy Mater. Sol. Cells 78, 425 (2003)
D. Carlson, C. Wronski, Appl. Phys. Lett. 28, 671 (1976)
D. Carson, Sol. Energy Mater. Sol. Cells 78, 327 (2003)
J.S. Cashmore, M. Apolloni, A. Braga, et al., Sol. Energy Mater. Sol. Cells 144, 84 (2016)
B. Chapman, Chapter 4, in Glow Discharge Process: Sputtering and Plasma Etching, (Wiley, New York/Chichester/Brisbane/Toronto/Singapore, 1980)
J. Chevallier, H. Wieder, A. Onton, C. Guarnieri, Solid State Comm. 24, 867 (1977)
G.D. Cody, Chapter 2, in Semiconductors and Semimetals, Hydrogenated Amorphous Silicon Part B, ed. by J. I. Pankove (Ed), vol. 21, (Academic Press, Orlando/San Diego/San Francisco/New York/London/Toronto/Montreal/Sydney/Tokyo/San Paul, 1984)
D. Cohen, Sol. Energy Mater. Sol. Cells 78, 399 (2003)
M.H. Cohen, H. Fritzsche, S.R. Ovshinsky, Phys. Rev. Lett. 22, 1065 (1969)
H. Curtins, N. Wyrsch, A. Shah, Electron. Lett. 23, 228 (1987a)
H. Curtins, N. Wyrsch, M. Favre, A.V. Shah, Plasma Chem. Plasma Process. 7, 267 (1987b)
F. Demichelis, C.F. Pirri, E. Tresso, J. Appl. Phys. 72, 1327 (1992)
X. Deng, E.A. Schiff, Chapter 12, in Handbook of Photovoltaics Engineering, ed. by A. Luque, S. Hegedus (Eds), (Wiley, Chichester, 2003)
J. Doyle, R. Robertson, G.H. Lin, M.Z. He, A. Gallagher, J. Appl. Phys. 64, 3215 (1988)
J. Fan, J. Kakalios, Phil. Mag B69, 595 (1994)
J. Fortner, J.S. Lannin, Phys. Rev. B 39, 5527 (1989)
H. Fritzsche, J. Kakalios, D. Dernstein, in Optical Effects in Amorphous Semiconductors, AIP Conf. Proc, ed. by P. C. Taylor, S. G. Bishop (Eds), vol. 120, (American Institute of Physics, New York, 1984), p. 229
Q. Gu, Q. Wang, E.A. Schiff, Y.-M. Li, C.T. Malone, J. Appl. Phys. 76, 2310 (1994)
S. Guha, K.L. Narasimhan, S.M. Pietruszko, J. Appl. Phys. 52, 859 (1981)
S. Guha, J. Yang, A. Pawlikiewicz, T. Glatfelter, R. Ross, S.R. Ovshinsky, Appl. Phys. Lett. 54, 2330 (1989)
S. Guha, X. Xu, J. Yang, A. Banerjee, Appl. Phys. Lett. 66, 595 (1994)
S. Guha, J. Yang, A. Banerjee, B. Yan, K. Lord, Sol. Energy Mater. Sol. Cells 78, 329 (2003)
D. Han, K. Wang, Sol. Energy Mater. Sol. Cells 78, 181 (2003)
D. Han, K. Wang, L. Yang, J. Appl. Phys. 80, 2475 (1996)
P. Hari, P.C. Taylor, R.A. Street, Mater. Res. Soc. Symp. Proc. 336, 329 (1994)
N. Hata, T. Kamei, H. Okamoto, A. Matsuda, Mater. Res. Soc. Symp. Proc. 467, 61 (1997)
J.K. Holt, M. Swiatek, D.G. Goodwin, H.A. Atwater, Mater. Res. Symp. Proc. 715, 165 (2002)
G. Hou, J. Fang, Q. Fan, C. Wei, J. Ni, X. Zhang, Y. Zhao, Sol. Energy Mater. Sol. Cells 134, 395 (2015)
K. Ishibashi, Thin Solid Films 395, 55 (2001)
M. Izu, T. Ellison, Sol. Energy Mater. Sol. Cells 78, 613 (2003)
W.B. Jackson, N.M. Amer, AIP Conf. Proc. 73, 263 (1981)
H. Jia, J.K. Saha, H. Shirai, Jpn. J. App. Phys. 45, 666 (2006a)
H. Jia, H. Shirai, M. Kondo, Mater. Res. Soc. Symp. Proc. 910, 309 (2006b)
J.D. Joannopoulos, G. Lucovsky, The Physics of Hydrogenated Amorphous Silicon I and II, Topics in Applied Physics, vol 56 (New York/Tokyo, 1984)
S. Jones, R. Crucet, X. Deng, D.L. Williamson, M. Izu, Mater. Res. Soc. Symp. Proc. 609, A4.5 (2000)
P.A. Khomyakov, W. Andreoni, N.D. Afify, A. Curioni, Phys. Rev. Lett. 107, 255502 (2011)
J. Koh, Y. Lee, H. Fujiwara, C.R. Wronski, R.W. Collins, Appl. Phys. Lett. 73, 1526 (1998)
S. Komuro, Y. Aoyagi, Y. Segawa, S. Namba, A. Masuyama, H. Okamoto, Y. Hamakawa, J. Appl. Phys. 55, 3866 (1984)
M. Kondo, Sol. Energy Mater. Sol. Cells 78, 543 (2003)
G. Kong, D. Zhang, G. Yue, X. Liao, Phys. Rev. Lett. 79, 4210 (1997)
A. Langford, M. Fleet, B. Nelson, W. Lanford, N. Maley, Phys. Rev. B 45, 13367 (1992)
J.S. Lannint, Chapter 6, in Semiconductors and Semimetals, Hydrogenated Amorphous Silicon Part B, ed. by J. I. Pankove (Ed), vol. 21, (Academic Press, Orlando/San Diego/San Francisco/New York/London/Toronto/Montreal/Sydney/Tokyo/San Paul, 1984)
X. Liao, W. Du, X. Yang, H. Povolny, X. Xiang, X. Deng, PVSC IEEE-31 Orlando, 3–7 January, 2005, p 1444
J. Löffler, C. Devilee, M. Geusebroek, W.J. Soppe, H.-J. Muffler, Proc. of 21st European Photovoltaic Solar Energy Conference (Dresden, 2006), p. 1597
D. Lundszien, J. Folsch, F. Finger, H. Wagner, Proc. of 14th European Photovoltaic Solar Energy Conference (Barcelona, June 1997), p.578
A.H. Mahan, Thin Solid Films 395, 12 (2001)
A.H. Mahan, Sol. Energy Mater. Sol. Cells 78, 299 (2003)
A.H. Mahan, A. Mason, B.P. Nelson, A.C. Gallagher, Mater. Res. Symp. Proc. 609, A6.6 (2000)
Y. Mai, S. Klein, R. Carius, H. Steibig, X. Geng, F. Finger, Appl. Phys. Lett. 87, 073503 (2005)
D.P. Masson, A. Ouhlal, A. Yelon, J. Non-Cryst. Solids 190, 151 (1995)
K. Masuko, M. Shigematsu, T. Hashiguchi, D. Fujishima, IEEE J Photovolt. 4, 1433 (2014.) http://panasonic.net/ecosolutions/solar/hit/
A. Matsuda, M. Matsumura, K. Nakagawa, T. Imura, H. Yamamoto, S. Yamazaki, H. Okushi, S. Iizima, and K. Tanaka, in Tetrahedrally Bonded Amorphous Semiconductor, R. A. Street, D. K. Biegelsen, and J. C. Knights (American Inst. Phys., New York 1981), 192
H. Matsumura, Thin Solid Films 395, 1 (2001)
H. Matsumura, H. Tachibana, Appl. Phys. Lett. 47, 833 (1985)
S.C. Moss, J.F. Graczyk, Phys. Rev. Lett. 23, 1167 (1969)
N.F. Mott, Phil. Mag. 13, 989 (1966)
N.F. Mott, Adv. Phys. 16, 49 (1967)
N.F. Mott, E.A. Davis, In Electronic Process in Non-crystalline Materials, 2nd edn. (Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1979), p. 322
H. Okamoto, K. Tanaka, E. Maruyama, Amorphous Silicon (Wiley, Chichester, 1999)
S.R. Ovshinsky, 18th IEEE Photovoltaic Specialists Conference (IEEE, New York, 1985), p. 1365
W. Paul, in Amorphous Silicon and Related Materials, ed. by H. Fritzsche (Ed), (World Scientific Publishing Company, Singapore, 1988), p. 63
E.A. Schiff, Sol. Energy Mater. Sol. Cells 78, 567 (2003)
E.A. Schiff, J. Phys. Condens. Matter 16, S5265 (2004)
A. Shah, J. Dutta, N. Wyrsch, K. Prasad, H. Curtins, F. Finger, A. Howling, C. Hollesnstein, Mater. Res. Soc. Symp. Proc. 258, 15 (1992)
A.V. Shah, J. Meier, E. Vallat-Sauvain, N. Wyrsch, U. Kroll, C. Droz, U. Graf, Sol. Energy Mater. Sol. Cells 78, 469 (2003)
N.J. Shevchik, W. Paul, J. Non-Cryst. Solids 381, 8–10 (1972)
K. Shimizu, T. Tabuchi, M. Iida, H. Okamoto, J. Non-Cryst. Solids 227, 267 (1998)
H. Shirai, Y. Sakuma, H. Ueyama, Thin Solid Films 345, 7 (1999)
W.E. Spear, P.G. LeComber, Solid State Commun. 17, 1193 (1975)
W.E. Spear, P.G. LeComber, Philos. Mag. 33, 935 (1976)
D.L. Staebler, C.R. Wronski, Appl. Phys. Lett. 31, 292 (1977)
R.A. Street, Adv. Phys. 30, 593 (1981)
R.A. Street, Hydrogenated Amorphous Silicon (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1991)
M. Stutzmann, R.A. Street, Phys. Rev. Lett. 54, 1836 (1985)
M. Stutzmann, W.B. Jackson, C.C. Tsai, Appl. Phys. Lett. 45, 1075 (1984)
T. Su, P.C. Taylor, Sol. Energy Mater. Sol. Cells 78, 269 (2003)
M. Taguchi, M. Tanaka, T. Matsuyama, et al. Proc. Fifth PVSEC (1990), pp. 689–692
J. Tauc, Chapter 4, in Amorphous and Liquid Semiconductors, ed. by J. Tauc (Ed), (Plenum Press, London/New York, 1974)
Y. Tawada, K. Tauge, M. Kondo, H. Okamoto, Y. Hamakawa, Appl. Phys. Lett. 53, 5273 (1982)
R.J. Temkin, W. Paul, G.A.N. Connell, Adv. Phys. 22, 581 (1973)
F. Urbach, Phys. Rev. 92, 1342 (1953)
S.D. Wolf, A. Descoeudres, Z.C. Holman, et al., Green 2, 7 (2012)
B. Yan, J. Yang, S. Guha, A. Gallagher, Mater. Res. Soc. Symp. Proc. 557, 115 (1999)
B. Yan, G. Yue, J. Yang, K. Lord, A. Banerjee, S. Guha, Proc. of 3rd World Conference on Photovoltaic Energy Conversion, (Osaka, 11–18 May, 2003), p. 2773
B. Yan, G. Yue, J. Yang, and S. Guha, Proc. of 33rd IEEE Photovoltaic Specialists Conference (IEEE, New York, 2008), paper No. 257
B. Yan, G. Yue, L. Sivec, J. Yang, S. Guha, C. Jiang, Appl. Phys. Lett. 99, 113512 (2011)
J. Yang, R. Ross, R. Mohr, J.R. Fournier, Mater. Res. Soc. Symp. Proc. 70, 475 (1986)
J. Yang, A. Banerjee, T. Glatfelter, K. Hoffman, X. Xu, S. Guha, Proc. of 1st World Conf. on Photovoltaic Energy Conversion Proc (IEEE, N. Y., 1994), p. 380
J. Yang, A. Banerjee, S. Guha, Appl. Phys. Lett. 70, 2975 (1997)
J. Yang, A. Banerjee, K. Lord, S. Guha, Proc. of 2nd World Conference and Exhibition on Photovoltaic Solar Energy Conversion (6–10 July 1998, Vienna), p. 387
J. Yang, B. Yan, S. Guha, Mater. Res. Soc. Symp. Proc. 664, A11.3 (2001)
J. Yang, A. Banerjee, S. Guha, Sol. Energy Mater. Sol. Cells 78, 597 (2003)
G. Yue, G. Kong, D. Zhang, Z. Ma, S. Sheng, X. Liao, Phys. Rew. B57, 2387 (1998)
G. Yue, B. Yan, J. Yang, S. Guha, Mater. Res. Soc. Symp. Proc. 989, 359 (2007)
P.Z. Zanzucchi, Chapter 4, in Semiconductors and Semimetals, Hydrogenated Amorphous Silicon Part B, ed. by J. I. Pankove (Ed), vol. 21, (Academic Press, Orlando/San Diego/San Francisco/New York/London/Toronto, Montreal/Sydney/Tokyo/San Paul, 1984)
S. Zhang, Y. Xu, Z. Hu, Y. Wang, X. Zeng, H. Diao, W. Wang, G. Kong, X. Liao, Proc. PVSC IEEE-29 New Orleans, 21–24 May, 2002, p. 1182
Y. Zhao, D. Zhang, G. Kong, G. Pan, X. Liao, Phys. Rev. Lett. 74, 558 (1995)
J. Zhao, A. Wang, M.A. Green, Prog. Photovolt. Res. Appl. 7, 471 (1999)
Acknowledgments
The authors are grateful for the colleagues in the thin film silicon PV community. They have enjoyed very much the collaborations with several institutions and sharing ideas and results through the international conferences such as the MRS, ICANS, IEEE-PVSEC, and EU-PVSEC. BY acknowledges the hospitality of the Nankai University.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Section Editor information
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2018 Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany
About this entry
Cite this entry
Zhao, Y., Zhang, X., Yan, B. (2018). Hydrogenated Amorphous Silicon Thin Film. In: Yang, D. (eds) Handbook of Photovoltaic Silicon. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-52735-1_27-1
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-52735-1_27-1
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
Print ISBN: 978-3-662-52735-1
Online ISBN: 978-3-662-52735-1
eBook Packages: Springer Reference Chemistry and Mat. ScienceReference Module Physical and Materials ScienceReference Module Chemistry, Materials and Physics