Effect of textured glass substrates coated with LPCVD-deposited SnO2:F on amorphous silicon solar cells

Abstract

A new type of SnO2:F film has been deposited by low-pressure chemical vapor deposition (LPCVD) on textured glass substrates, and it is used for the fabrication of amorphous silicon (a-Si) thin film solar cells. These substrates are found to be highly effective in terms of their optical and electrical properties. They also facilitate the fabrication of efficient top cells for a future multi-junction solar cell. These substrates have a micron-order texture feature size, which is much larger than the a-Si absorber layer thickness. Still, they produce higher current in the 300-550 nm wavelength range with a higher open circuit voltage than cells on multi-scale textured ZnO:B substrates. This work examines the applicability of this new SnO2:F coated glass substrate with different texture profiles on a-Si solar cells in the wavelength range of 300-550 nm. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.