JP2735862B2 - Photovoltaic element - Google Patents
Photovoltaic elementInfo
- Publication number
- JP2735862B2 JP2735862B2 JP1038988A JP3898889A JP2735862B2 JP 2735862 B2 JP2735862 B2 JP 2735862B2 JP 1038988 A JP1038988 A JP 1038988A JP 3898889 A JP3898889 A JP 3898889A JP 2735862 B2 JP2735862 B2 JP 2735862B2
- Authority
- JP
- Japan
- Prior art keywords
- layer
- sic
- type
- microcrystalline
- buffer layer
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Expired - Lifetime
Links
Classifications
-
- Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
- Y02—TECHNOLOGIES OR APPLICATIONS FOR MITIGATION OR ADAPTATION AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE
- Y02E—REDUCTION OF GREENHOUSE GAS [GHG] EMISSIONS, RELATED TO ENERGY GENERATION, TRANSMISSION OR DISTRIBUTION
- Y02E10/00—Energy generation through renewable energy sources
- Y02E10/50—Photovoltaic [PV] energy
- Y02E10/545—Microcrystalline silicon PV cells
-
- Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
- Y02—TECHNOLOGIES OR APPLICATIONS FOR MITIGATION OR ADAPTATION AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE
- Y02E—REDUCTION OF GREENHOUSE GAS [GHG] EMISSIONS, RELATED TO ENERGY GENERATION, TRANSMISSION OR DISTRIBUTION
- Y02E10/00—Energy generation through renewable energy sources
- Y02E10/50—Photovoltaic [PV] energy
- Y02E10/548—Amorphous silicon PV cells
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- Photovoltaic Devices (AREA)
Description
【発明の詳細な説明】 〔産業上の利用分野〕 本発明は、少なくとも１組のpin構造を備えた光起電
力素子に関するものである。Description: TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a photovoltaic element having at least one set of pin structures.
非晶質シリコン（以下ａ−Siという）を用いた光起電
力素子は、通常１組または複数組のpin構造を備えてお
り、ｐ型層側から入射された光をａ−Siからなるｉ型層
にて吸収して光キャリアを発生することによって、光電
変換動作を行っている。従って、ｐ型層としては入射光
を殆ど吸収することなく透過させるような材質のものが
好ましく、ｉ型層（ａ−Si）よりバンドギャップが広
い、例えば非晶質シリコンカーバイド（以下ａ−SiCと
いう）がｐ型層の材料として広くう使われている。A photovoltaic element using amorphous silicon (hereinafter referred to as a-Si) usually has one or more sets of pin structures, and converts light incident from the p-type layer side to an i-layer made of a-Si. The photoelectric conversion operation is performed by generating photocarriers by absorption in the mold layer. Therefore, the p-type layer is preferably made of a material that allows incident light to pass therethrough without absorbing it. The p-type layer has a wider band gap than the i-type layer (a-Si), for example, amorphous silicon carbide (hereinafter a-SiC). Is widely used as a material for the p-type layer.
ところがこのような構成の場合、ａ−Siよりバンドギ
ャップが広いｐ型層とａ−Siからなるｉ型層との界面に
おいて、光キャリアの再結合が多く発生して光電変換効
率の向上が妨げられるという問題があった。However, in such a configuration, many recombination of photocarriers occurs at the interface between the p-type layer having a wider band gap than a-Si and the i-type layer made of a-Si, which hinders improvement in photoelectric conversion efficiency. There was a problem that was.
このような問題を解決するための光起電力素子の構造
が、Journal of Applied Physics 56（２）,15 July 19
84 pp.538〜542に示されている。ここに開示されている
構造は、ａ−SiCからなるｐ型層とａ−Siからなるｉ型
層との間に、ｐ型層からｉ型層に向かうにつれて炭素濃
度が漸減するようなグレーデッドなノンドープａ−SiC
からなるバッファ層を介挿させることとし、このバッフ
ァ層の作用にて光キャリアの再結合を減少させている。The structure of a photovoltaic element for solving such a problem is described in Journal of Applied Physics 56 (2), 15 July 19
84 pp. 538-542. The structure disclosed herein has a graded structure in which the carbon concentration gradually decreases from the p-type layer toward the i-type layer between the p-type layer made of a-SiC and the i-type layer made of a-Si. Non-doped a-SiC
A buffer layer made of the following is interposed, and recombination of optical carriers is reduced by the function of the buffer layer.
ところで上述したバッファ層は、入射光を吸収するこ
となくｉ型層まで透過させ、順方向ダイオード電流を抑
制し、抵抗成分による電気的ロスをなくさせるような特
性を有することが必要であるので、バッファ層は、光学
的バンドギャップ（Eopt）が2.0eV以上であり、しかも
光導電率（σph）が10-5Ω-1cm-1以上であることが望ま
しい。By the way, the above-described buffer layer needs to have such characteristics as to transmit incident light to the i-type layer without absorbing it, to suppress a forward diode current, and to eliminate electric loss due to a resistance component. The buffer layer desirably has an optical band gap (E opt ) of 2.0 eV or more and a photoconductivity (σ ph ) of 10 -5 Ω -1 cm -1 or more.
ところが、Journal of Non−Crystalline Solids 97
＆98（1987）pp.1367〜1374にも開示されているよう
に、ａ−SiCではEoptを2.0eV以上とし、しかもσphを10
-5Ω-1cm-1以上とすることは困難であるという問題点が
あった。However, Journal of Non-Crystalline Solids 97
& 98 (1987) as pp.1367~1374 also disclosed in, not less than 2.0eV the a-SiC in E opt, yet the sigma ph 10
There is a problem in that it is difficult to make the resistance more than -5 Ω -1 cm -1 .
本発明はかかる事情に鑑みてなされたものであり、微
結晶SiC及び／又は微結晶Siを含んだSiC層をバッファ層
として用いることにより、バッファ層が上述したような
特性を達成することができ、光電変換効率を向上するこ
とができる光起電力素子を提供することを目的とする。The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and by using microcrystalline SiC and / or a SiC layer containing microcrystalline Si as a buffer layer, the buffer layer can achieve the above-described characteristics. It is another object of the present invention to provide a photovoltaic element capable of improving photoelectric conversion efficiency.
本発明に係る光起電力素子は、ｉ型の非晶質Si層と該
非晶質Si層より大きなバンドギャップを持つｐ型層とを
有するpin構造を備えた光起電力素子において、前記非
晶質Si層と前記ｐ型層との間に、微結晶SiC及び／又は
微結晶Siを含むSiC層を介挿してあることを特徴とす
る。The photovoltaic device according to the present invention is a photovoltaic device having a pin structure having an i-type amorphous Si layer and a p-type layer having a larger band gap than the amorphous Si layer. A microcrystalline SiC and / or a SiC layer containing microcrystalline Si is interposed between the porous Si layer and the p-type layer.
本発明の光起電力素子では、ａ−Siからなるｉ型層と
これよりバンドギャップが広いｐ型層との間に介挿され
た、微結晶SiC及び／又は微結晶Siを含むSiC層（バッフ
ァ層）は、前述した数値（Eoptは2.0eV以上，σphは10
-5Ω-1cm-1以上）を満たす。従って、このようなSiC層
において光吸収は減少し、順方向ダイオード電流は低減
し、抵抗成分に伴う電気的ロスはなく、光起電力素子の
特性は向上する。In the photovoltaic device of the present invention, the microcrystalline SiC and / or the SiC layer containing microcrystalline Si interposed between the i-type layer made of a-Si and the p-type layer having a wider band gap are used. The buffer layer has the aforementioned values (E opt is 2.0 eV or more, σ ph is 10
-5 Ω -1 cm -1 or more). Therefore, in such a SiC layer, the light absorption is reduced, the forward diode current is reduced, there is no electric loss associated with the resistance component, and the characteristics of the photovoltaic element are improved.
以下、本発明をその実施例に基づき具体的に説明す
る。Hereinafter, the present invention will be specifically described based on examples.
第１図は本発明の光起電力素子の一例を示す構造図で
あり、図中１はガラス基板を示す。ガラス基板１上に
は、In2O3,SnO2,ITO等の透光性導電酸化物からなる透明
電極2,p−型ａ−SiC層3,微結晶SiC及び微結晶Siを含ん
だSiC層からなる本発明のバッファ層4,i−型ａ−Si層5,
n−型ａ−Si層６及び金属電極７が、この順に積層され
ている。これらの構成材のうち、ｐ−型ａ−SiC層3,バ
ッファ層4,i−型ａ−Si層５及びｎ−型ａ−Si層６の形
成条件の一例を下記第１表に示す。FIG. 1 is a structural view showing an example of the photovoltaic element of the present invention, in which 1 indicates a glass substrate. On a glass substrate 1, a transparent electrode 2, which is made of a light-transmitting conductive oxide such as In 2 O 3 , SnO 2 , ITO, etc., a p-type a-SiC layer 3, microcrystalline SiC, and SiC containing microcrystalline Si. Buffer layer 4, i-type a-Si layer 5,
The n-type a-Si layer 6 and the metal electrode 7 are stacked in this order. Table 1 shows an example of the conditions for forming the p-type a-SiC layer 3, the buffer layer 4, the i-type a-Si layer 5, and the n-type a-Si layer 6 among these constituent materials.
なお、ｐ−型ａ−SiC層3,i−型ａ−Si層５及びｎ−型
ａ−Si層６は、一般的によく知られているGD法を用いて
形成することとし、バッファ層４は、昭和63年春応物学
会予稿集29a−ZG−１に開示されているCPM（Cotrolled
Plasma Magnetron）法を用いて形成する。なお本実施例
ではCPM法において磁場電流を10Aとした。このような条
件にて形成されたバッファ層４は、ラマンスペクトル解
析によると、微結晶SiC及び微結晶Siの両方を含有して
いることが確認されている。 The p-type a-SiC layer 3, the i-type a-Si layer 5, and the n-type a-Si layer 6 are formed by using a generally well-known GD method, 4 is a CPM (Cotrolled) disclosed in the Proceedings 29a-ZG-1 of the Spring Society of Materials Science, 1988.
It is formed using a Plasma Magnetron) method. In this example, the magnetic field current was set to 10 A in the CPM method. According to Raman spectrum analysis, it is confirmed that the buffer layer 4 formed under such conditions contains both microcrystalline SiC and microcrystalline Si.
第２図は本発明のバッファ層４（SiC層）におけるE
optとσphとの関係を示すグラフである。本発明のバッ
ファ層４は、光起電力素子のバッファ層として好ましい
特性（Eoptが2.0eV以上，σphが10-5Ω-1cm-1以上）を
満足していることが第２図から理解される。FIG. 2 shows the E in the buffer layer 4 (SiC layer) of the present invention.
6 is a graph showing a relationship between opt and σ ph . FIG. 2 shows that the buffer layer 4 of the present invention satisfies preferable characteristics (E opt is 2.0 eV or more and σ ph is 10 −5 Ω −1 cm −1 or more) as a buffer layer of a photovoltaic element. It is understood from.
微結晶SiC及び微結晶Siを含むSiC層をバッファ層とし
て用いる本実施例の光起電力素子では、ａ−SiC層をバ
ッファ層として用いた従来の光起電力素子に比して、開
放電圧Vocが２％，短絡電流Iscが３％夫々向上し、光電
変換効率が５％向上した。In the photovoltaic device of this embodiment using microcrystalline SiC and a SiC layer containing microcrystalline Si as a buffer layer, the open-circuit voltage V is higher than that of a conventional photovoltaic device using an a-SiC layer as a buffer layer. The oc was improved by 2%, the short-circuit current Isc was improved by 3%, and the photoelectric conversion efficiency was improved by 5%.
なお本実施例では、バッファ層４として、微結晶SiC
及び微結晶Siの両方を含んだSiC層を用いることとした
が、微結晶SiC又は微結晶Siの一方のみを含んだSiC層を
用いることとしてもよい。このような一方のみを含んだ
SiC層をバッファ層４として用いた光起電力素子では、
前述した従来の光起電力素子に比して、光電変換効率が
１〜５％向上した。In this embodiment, as the buffer layer 4, microcrystalline SiC
Although a SiC layer containing both of Si and microcrystalline Si is used, a SiC layer containing only one of microcrystalline SiC and microcrystalline Si may be used. Including only one such
In the photovoltaic element using the SiC layer as the buffer layer 4,
Compared with the above-described conventional photovoltaic element, the photoelectric conversion efficiency is improved by 1 to 5%.
また本実施例では、ｐ型層としてａ−SiCを用いるこ
ととしたが、ａ−SiNまたはｉ型層よりバンドギャップ
が大きいａ−Siを、ｐ型層として用いる場合においても
同様の効果が得られる。In this embodiment, a-SiC is used as the p-type layer. However, similar effects can be obtained when a-SiN or a-Si having a larger band gap than the i-type layer is used as the p-type layer. Can be
以上詳述した如く本発明の光起電力素子では、ｐ型層
とｉ型層との間に、微結晶SiC及び／又は微結晶Siを含
むSiC層をバッファ層として介挿させたので、ｐ型層と
ｉ型層との界面に発生する光キャリアの再結合を減少で
きると共に、バッファ層としての好ましい特性を満たす
ことができ、光電変換効率を大幅に向上することが可能
となる。As described in detail above, in the photovoltaic device of the present invention, microcrystalline SiC and / or a SiC layer containing microcrystalline Si are interposed between the p-type layer and the i-type layer as a buffer layer. Recombination of photocarriers generated at the interface between the mold layer and the i-type layer can be reduced, and preferable characteristics as a buffer layer can be satisfied, and the photoelectric conversion efficiency can be greatly improved.
第１図は本発明に係る光起電力素子の一実施例の構造
図、第２図は本発明の光起電力素子に用いるバッファ層
（SiC層）における光学的バンドギャップEoptと光導電
率σphとの関係を示す特性図である。 １……ガラス基板、２……透明電極、３……ｐ型ａ−Si
C層、４……バッファ層（SiC層）、５……ｉ型ａ−Si
層、６……ｎ型ａ−Si層、７……金属電極FIG. 1 is a structural view of one embodiment of a photovoltaic device according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is an optical band gap E opt and photoconductivity in a buffer layer (SiC layer) used in the photovoltaic device of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a characteristic diagram showing a relationship with σ ph . 1 ... glass substrate, 2 ... transparent electrode, 3 ... p-type a-Si
C layer, 4 ... buffer layer (SiC layer), 5 ... i-type a-Si
Layer 6, n-type a-Si layer 7, metal electrode
───────────────────────────────────────────────────── フロントページの続き (56)参考文献 特開 昭63−274184（ＪＰ，Ａ) 特開 昭63−143877（ＪＰ，Ａ) 特開 昭62−60271（ＪＰ，Ａ) ────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (56) References JP-A-63-274184 (JP, A) JP-A-63-143877 (JP, A) JP-A-62-60271 (JP, A)
Claims (1)
なバンドギャップを持つｐ型層とを有するpin構造を備
えた光起電力素子において、 前記非晶質Si層と前記ｐ型層との間に、微結晶SiC及び
／又は微結晶Siを含むSiC層を介挿してあることを特徴
とする光起電力素子。1. A photovoltaic device having a pin structure having an i-type amorphous Si layer and a p-type layer having a band gap larger than the amorphous Si layer, wherein the amorphous Si layer and the A photovoltaic element comprising microcrystalline SiC and / or a SiC layer containing microcrystalline Si interposed between the p-type layer and the p-type layer.
Priority Applications (1)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| JP1038988A JP2735862B2 (en) | 1989-02-17 | 1989-02-17 | Photovoltaic element |
Applications Claiming Priority (1)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| JP1038988A JP2735862B2 (en) | 1989-02-17 | 1989-02-17 | Photovoltaic element |
Publications (2)
| Publication Number | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| JPH02218175A JPH02218175A (en) | 1990-08-30 |
| JP2735862B2 true JP2735862B2 (en) | 1998-04-02 |
Family
ID=12540522
Family Applications (1)
| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| JP1038988A Expired - Lifetime JP2735862B2 (en) | 1989-02-17 | 1989-02-17 | Photovoltaic element |
Country Status (1)
| Country | Link |
|---|---|
| JP (1) | JP2735862B2 (en) |
Families Citing this family (8)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US5419783A (en) * | 1992-03-26 | 1995-05-30 | Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd. | Photovoltaic device and manufacturing method therefor |
| JP2550888B2 (en) * | 1993-10-22 | 1996-11-06 | 株式会社日立製作所 | Solar cell |
| JPH0992860A (en) * | 1995-09-28 | 1997-04-04 | Canon Inc | Photovoltaic element |
| JP4530785B2 (en) * | 2004-09-30 | 2010-08-25 | 三洋電機株式会社 | Photovoltaic device |
| JP5150040B2 (en) * | 2005-03-25 | 2013-02-20 | 三洋電機株式会社 | Photovoltaic device |
| JP2011176084A (en) * | 2010-02-24 | 2011-09-08 | Sanyo Electric Co Ltd | Photoelectric conversion module, and method for manufacturing same |
| JP2011249469A (en) * | 2010-05-25 | 2011-12-08 | Mitsubishi Electric Corp | Method for manufacturing thin film photoelectric conversion device |
| JP5409675B2 (en) * | 2011-03-08 | 2014-02-05 | 三菱電機株式会社 | Thin film solar cell and manufacturing method thereof |
-
1989
- 1989-02-17 JP JP1038988A patent/JP2735862B2/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
Also Published As
| Publication number | Publication date |
|---|---|
| JPH02218175A (en) | 1990-08-30 |
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