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Limiting process in shallow junction solar cellsIn extending the violet and nonreflective cell technology to lower resistivities, several processes limiting output power were encountered. The most important was the dark diffusion current due to recombination at the front grid contacts. After removal of this problem by reduction of the silicon metal contact area (to 0.14 percent of the total area), the electric field enhanced junction recombination current J sub r was the main limitation. Alteration of the diffusion profile to reduce the junction field is shown to be an effective means of influencing J sub r. The remaining problems are the bulk recombination in the n+ layer and the surface recombination at the oxide-silicon interface; both of these problems are aggravated by band-narrowing resulting from heavy doping in the diffused layer. Experimental evidence for the main limitations is shown, where increased diffusion temperature is seen to reduce both the influence of the front grid contacts and the junction electric field by increasing the junction depth. The potential for further significant improvement in efficiency appears to be high.
Document ID
19790024475
Acquisition Source
Legacy CDMS
Document Type
Conference Paper
Authors
Meulenberg, A. (Communications Satellite Corp. Clarksburg, MD, United States)
Rittner, E. (Communications Satellite Corp. Clarksburg, MD, United States)
Date Acquired
August 9, 2013
Publication Date
August 1, 1979
Publication Information
Publication: NASA. Lewis Res. Center Solar Cell High Efficiency and Radiation Damage, 1979
Subject Category
Energy Production And Conversion
Accession Number
79N32646
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Work of the US Gov. Public Use Permitted.

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IDRelationTitle19790024469Collected WorksSolar Cell High Efficiency and Radiation Damage, 1979
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