Optimizing phosphorous and boron doped layers for stable p-i-n solar cells

Phosphorous and boron doped a-Si:H layers have been optimized with respect to their stability when used in single junction p-i-n solar cells. Hydrogen effusion measurements show a structural change for both types of films at doping concentrations above 0.2 +/- 0.1%. While at this doping level the co nductivity of the layers is not the largest possible, their application to solar cells results in an increase of the open circuit voltage, ascribed to the activation of boron atoms and a better stability of the n-layer. (C) 2 000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.