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Bilayers of intrinsic and doped hydrogenated amorphous silicon, deposited on crystalline silicon (c-Si) surfaces, simultaneously provide contact passivation and carrier collection in silicon heterojunction solar cells. Recently, we have shown that the presence of overlaying transparent conductive oxides can significantly affect the c-Si surface potential induced by these amorphous silicon stacks. Specifically, deposition on the hole-collecting bilayers can result in an undesired weakening of contact passivation, thereby lowering the achievable fill factor in a finished device. We test here a variety of organic semiconductors of different doping levels, overlaying hydrogenated amorphous silicon layers and silicon-based hole collectors, to mitigate this effect. We find that these materials enhance the c-Si surface potential, leading to increased implied fill factors. This opens opportunities for improved device performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Perovskite/silicon tandem solar cells are increasingly recognized as promi­sing candidates for next‐generation photovoltaics with performance beyond the single‐junction limit at potentially low production costs. Current designs for monolithic tandems rely on transparent conductive oxides as an intermediate recombination layer, which lead to optical losses and reduced shunt resistance. An improved recombination junction based on nanocrystalline silicon layers to mitigate these losses is demonstrated. When employed in monolithic perovskite/silicon heterojunction tandem cells with a planar front side, this junction is found to increase the bottom cell photocurrent by more than 1 mA cm−2. In combination with a cesium‐based perovskite top cell, this leads to tandem cell power‐conversion efficiencies of up to 22.7% obtained from J–V measurements and steady‐state efficiencies of up to 22.0% during maximum power point tracking. Thanks to its low lateral conductivity, the nanocrystalline silicon recombination junction enables upscaling of monolithic perovskite/silicon heterojunction tandem cells, resulting in a 12.96 cm2 monolithic tandem cell with a steady‐state efficiency of 18%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Substituting the doped amorphous silicon films at the front of silicon heterojunction solar cells with wide-bandgap transition metal oxides can mitigate parasitic light absorption losses. This was recently proven by replacing p-type amorphous silicon with molybdenum oxide films. In this article, we evidence that annealing above 130°C--often needed for the curing of printed metal contacts-- detrimentally impacts hole collection of such devices. We circumvent this issue by using electrodeposited copper front metallization and demonstrate a silicon heterojunction solar cell with molybdenum oxide hole collector, featuring a fill factor value higher than 80% and certified energy conversion efficiency of 22.5%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Thin, light-absorbing films attenuate the Raman signal of underlying substrates. In this article, we exploit this phenomenon to develop a contactless thickness profiling method for thin films deposited on rough substrates. We demonstrate this technique by probing profiles of thin amorphous silicon stripes deposited on rough crystalline silicon surfaces, which is a structure exploited in high-efficiency silicon heterojunction solar cells. Our spatially-resolved Raman measurements enable the thickness mapping of amorphous silicon over the whole active area of test solar cells with very high precision; the thickness detection limit is well below 1 nm and the spatial resolution is down to 500 nm, limited only by the optical resolution. We also discuss the wider applicability of this technique for the characterization of thin layers prepared on Raman/photoluminescence-active substrates, as well as its use for single-layer counting in multilayer 2D materials such as graphene, MoS2 and WS2. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hydrogenated nanocrystalline silicon (nc-Si:H) is a multiphase, heterogeneous material, composed of Si nanocrystals embedded in an amorphous matrix. It has been intensively studied in the last few years due to its great promise for photovoltaic and optoelectronics applications. The present paper aims to study the current transport mechanisms in nc-Si:H by mapping the local conductivity at the nanoscale. The role of B doping in nc-Si:H is also investigated. Conductivity maps are obtained by atomic force microscopy using a conductive tip. Differences and similarities between intrinsic and doped nc-Si:H conductivity maps were observed and these are also explained on the basis of recently published computational studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]