Nanoscale measurements of local junction breakdown in epitaxial film silicon solar cells

In this contribution, the authors report on near-field scanning optical microscopy measurements of the luminescence emitted from localized junction breakdown in epitaxial silicon solar cells. Our measurements suggest that the observed local reduction in breakdown voltage results from avalanche multi...

Ausführliche Beschreibung

Gespeichert in:
Bibliographische Detailangaben
Veröffentlicht in:Applied physics letters 2010-08, Vol.97 (9), p.092107-092107-3
Hauptverfasser: Romero, M. J., Alberi, K., Martin, I. T., Jones, K. M., Young, D. L., Yan, Y., Teplin, C., Al-Jassim, M. M., Stradins, P., Branz, H. M.
Format: Artikel
Sprache:eng
Schlagworte:
Online-Zugang:Volltext
Tags: Tag hinzufügen
Keine Tags, Fügen Sie den ersten Tag hinzu!
Beschreibung
Zusammenfassung:In this contribution, the authors report on near-field scanning optical microscopy measurements of the luminescence emitted from localized junction breakdown in epitaxial silicon solar cells. Our measurements suggest that the observed local reduction in breakdown voltage results from avalanche multiplication assisted by the reinforcing combination of (i) the local enhancement of the electrostatic field at the apex of inverted pyramid pits and (ii) the participation of defect states in the avalanche breakdown. Transmission electron microscopy reveals the microstructure of the defect responsible for the local junction breakdown.
ISSN:0003-6951
1077-3118
DOI:10.1063/1.3479534