High Efficiency Silicon Solar Cells with Bilayer Passivation Structure

Abstract

lThe effects of passivation on monocrystalline silicon solar cells were investigated. Al(2)O(3) and SiO(2) films, prepared by atomic layer deposition and thermal oxidation, respectively, were used as passivation layers. Passivation using a monolayer (SiO(2)) yielded a cell efficiency of 17.5%. However, the Al(2)O(3)/SiO(2) bilayer structure drastically increased cell efficiency to 20.1%. Quantum efficiency results revealed a significant improvement in the IR range, suggesting that bilayer passivation was effective on the back of a solar cell in providing a high energy conversion efficiency. (C) 2009 The Electrochemical Society. [DOI: 10.1149/1.3194252] All rights reserved.