Differences in the structure composition of microcrystalline silicon solar cells deposited by HWCVD and PECVD: Influence on open circuit voltage

Structural properties, current–voltage (J–V) characteristics in the dark and under illumination and quantum efficiency are systematically studied and compared for μc-Si:H solar cells with i-layers deposited by HWCVD or PECVD. A correlation between the increasing VOC and decreasing crystalline volume fraction of the i-layer can be observed in solar cells deposited by HWCVD and PECVD. At high crystallinity, similar J–V parameters are obtained for both methods. However, HWCVD solar cells can be prepared with lower crystalline volume fractions below 50%, without the drastic drop of solar performance observed in PECVD solar cells.