Improved performance of microcrystalline silicon solar cell with graded-band-gap silicon oxide buffer layer

Microcrystalline silicon (μc-Si:H) solar cell with graded band gap microcrystalline silicon oxide (μc-SiO_x:H) buffer layer is prepared by plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition and exhibits improved performance compared with the cell without it. The buffer layer moderates the band gap mismatch by reducing the barrier of the p/i interface, which promotes the nucleation of the i-layer and effectively eliminates the incubation layer, and then enhances the collection efficiency of the cell in the short wavelength region of the spectrum. The p/i interface defect density also decreases from 2.2 × 10¹² cm⁻² to 5.0 × 10¹¹ cm⁻². This graded buffer layer allows to simplify the deposition process for the μc-Si:H solar cell application. (rapid communication)