Photovoltaic device

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9331226-B2
Application number	US-201314134743-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 19, 2013
Priority date	Jun 30, 2011
Publication date	May 3, 2016
Grant date	May 3, 2016

Abstract

A photovoltaic device is provided having a semiconductor substrate, an i-type amorphous layer formed over a front surface of the semiconductor substrate, a p-type amorphous layer formed over the i-type amorphous layer, an i-type amorphous layer formed over a back surface of the semiconductor substrate, and an n-type amorphous layer formed over the i-type amorphous layer. The i-type amorphous layer and the i-type amorphous layer have oxygen concentration profiles in which concentrations are reduced in a step-shape from regions near interfaces with the semiconductor substrate and along a thickness direction, and an oxygen concentration in the step-shape portion of the i-type amorphous layer is higher than an oxygen concentration in the step-shape portion of the i-type amorphous layer.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A photovoltaic device comprising:
a crystalline semiconductor substrate of a first conductive type;
a first amorphous semiconductor layer which is intrinsic and formed over a first surface of the semiconductor substrate;
a second amorphous semiconductor layer of a second conductive type opposite to the first conductive type and formed over the first amorphous semiconductor layer;
a third amorphous semiconductor layer which is intrinsic and formed over a second surface, opposite to the first surface, of the semiconductor substrate; and
a fourth amorphous semiconductor layer of the first conductive type and formed over the third amorphous semiconductor layer,
wherein an oxygen concentration in a high-oxygen-concentration region within 5 nm near the interface between the crystalline semiconductor substrate and each of the first amorphous semiconductor layer and the third amorphous semiconductor layer is greater than or equal to 1×10 20 /cm 3 and less than or equal to 1×10 21 /cm 3 ,
wherein a profile of the oxygen concentration in each of the high-oxygen concentration regions is reduced in a step shape near an interface with the semiconductor substrate along a thickness direction, and a slope of each of the profiles has at least two peaks,
and the oxygen concentration in the high-oxygen concentration region of the first amorphous semiconductor layer is higher than an oxygen concentration in the high-oxygen concentration region of the third amorphous semiconductor layer,
and wherein an oxygen concentration in regions in the first amorphous semiconductor layer other than the high-oxygen-concentration region is less than 1×10 20 /cm 3 .

2. The photovoltaic device according to claim 1 , wherein
an oxygen concentration in a high-oxygen-concentration region which is a region within 5nm near the interface between the semiconductor substrate and the first amorphous semiconductor layer is greater than or equal to 2×10 20 /cm 3 and less than or equal to 1×10 21 /cm 3 .

3. The photovoltaic device according to claim 1 , wherein
an oxygen concentration in a high-oxygen-concentration region which is a region within 5 nm near the interface between the semiconductor substrate and the third amorphous semiconductor layer is greater than or equal to 1×10 20 /cm 3 and less than or equal to 9×10 20 /cm 3 .

4. The photovoltaic device according to claim 2 , wherein
an oxygen concentration in a high-oxygen-concentration region which is a region within 5 nm near an interface between the semiconductor substrate and the third amorphous semiconductor layer is greater than or equal to 1×10 20 /cm 3 and less than or equal to 9×10 20 /cm 3 .

Assignees

• Panasonic Ip Man Co Ltd

Inventors

• Yano Ayumu
• Ogane Akiyoshi

Classifications

• Y02E10/548

  Amorphous silicon PV cells · CPC title

• H10F77/1662 Primary

  including only Group IV materials · CPC title

• H10F10/166 Primary

  the Group IV-IV heterojunctions being heterojunctions of crystalline and amorphous materials, e.g. silicon heterojunction [SHJ] photovoltaic cells · CPC title

• H10F10/142 Primary

  comprising multiple PN homojunctions, e.g. tandem cells · CPC title

• H01L31/0747

  Electricity · mapped topic