Abstract
Microcrystalline silicon (µc-Si) films and solar cells were prepared by mercury-sensitized photochemical vapor deposition (photo-CVD). The changes in the structural properties of a series of µc-Si films grown under various H2 dilution and deposition pressure conditions were discussed. The results indicated that the properties of µc-Si films depend strongly on the atomic hydrogen. The microstructures of µc-Si films on textured SnO2 with different haze factors (from 13% to 65%) were observed with a scanning electron microscope and a transmission electron microscope. The observations revealed that the µc-Si layers grew from the initial stage of deposition with columnar grains and that they were conformal to the surface of textured SnO2. The grain boundary density of µc-Si film on SnO2 with higher haze factors was lower than that on SnO2 with lower haze factors. The effect of textured SnO2 with different haze ratios on p–i–n µc-Si cell characteristics was discussed and it was found that the higher haze factors showed a higher degree of light trapping in our µc-Si cells. We deposited µc-Si cells with an intrinsic µc-Si layer thickness of 430 nm on a textured SnO2 sample with a haze factor of 42% and achieved a conversion efficiency of 6.55%.