ELECTRICAL PROPERTIES OF SOLAR CELLS WITH A HETEROJUNCTION OF AMORPHOUS AND CRYSTALLINE SILICON IRRADIATED BY HEAVY XENON IONS

Ladislav Harmatha – Miroslav Mikolášek – Michal Nemec – František Janíček – Ladislav Hrubčín – Vladimir A. Skuratov

   The contribution is focused on the diagnostics of structures with a heterojunction between amorphous and crystalline silicon prepared by HIT (Heterojunction with an Intrinsic Thin layer) technology. The samples were irradiated by Xe ions with energy 167 MeV and doses from 5× 10⁸ cm^-2 to 5× 10¹⁰ cm^-2. Current and capacitance measurements revealed the effect of radiation defects induced in the bulk of Si and at the a-Si:H/c-Si interface upon the electrophysical properties of the structures. On increasing the dose of irradiation the contribution of generation-recombination current from the amorphous part of silicon was growing. An increase in the density of interface traps and their electrical activity were observed in temperature dependent capacitance measurements in a wide frequency range of the measuring signal.

Keywords: Silicon HIT solar cell, amorphous-crystalline silicon heterostructure, heterojunction with intrinsic thin-layer, high-energy heavy ions irradiation, radiation hardness

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