Deposition and characterization of ZnS/Si heterojunctions produced by vacuum evaporation

Isotype heterojunctions of ZnS (lattice constant 5.41 A) were grown on silicon (lattice constant 5.43 A) p-n junctions to form a minority-carrier mirror. The deposition process was vacuum evaporation from a ZnS powder source onto a heated (450 C) substrate. Both planar (100) and textured (111) surfaces were used. A reduction of the minority-carrier recombination at the surface was seen from increased short-wavelength quantum response and increased illuminated open-circuit voltage. The minority-carrier diffusion length was not degraded by the process

The effects of electron and proton irradiation on thin film solar cells

The reasons for interest in irradiation effects on solar cells are reviewed. It is shown that studies of these effects (a) permit estimates of the useful life of solar cells in space radiation fields, (b) provide information about the nature of the photovoltaic effect in specific kinds of cells and (c) can lead to fundamental information about radiation effects in the parent material. Studies of radiation damage in GaAs, CdS and CdTe are reviewed. Published data on damage to thin film cells is also reviewed. According to the literature, only protons have been shown to produce damage in the cells. This observation is shown to be in rough agreement with radiation damage theory.On passe en revue les raisons de l'intérêt porté aux effets de l'irradiation sur les cellules solaires. L'étude de ces effets : a) permet d'estimer la durée de vie utile des cellules dans les champs de radiation spatiaux, b) renseigne sur la nature de l'effet photovoltaïque dans chaque espèce de cellule, et c) peut fournir des données fondamentales sur l'effet de l'irradiation sur le matériau constituant. On indique les détériorations par les radiations dans GaAs, CdS et CdTe, ainsi que les renseignements publiés sur la détérioration par les radiations des cellules à couches minces. D'après les publications, seuls les protons agissent pour détériorer les cellules. Cette observation concorde, en gros, avec la théorie de la détérioration par les radiations

Grating-type Si solar cell design and analysis

[[abstract]]Grating structures are expected to have considerably better spectral response to short wavelengths than in conventional diffused structures. This paper reviews the experimental results and design principles of grating Si cells. Numerical simulations were done to analyze the Si grating cell performance. The deep junction concept is in contrast to the conventional shallow junction cells. The computational results indicate that BSF are essential to be incorporated in the grating structure and the current output of a grating cell can be substantially increased by the incorporation of minority carrier mirrors.[[department]]電機工程學