• 한국진공학회:학술대회논문집
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• 한국진공학회 2013년도 제44회 동계 정기학술대회 초록집
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• pp.230-230
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• 2013

In amorphous or microcrystalline thin-film silicon solar cells, p-i-n structure is used instead of p/n junction structure as in wafer-based Si solar cells. Hence, these p-i-n structured solar cells inevitably consist of many interfaces and the cell efficiency critically depends on the effective control of these interfaces. In this study, in-situ plasma treatment process of the interfaces was developed to improve the efficiency of a-Si:H solar cell. The p-i-n cell was deposited using a single-chamber VHF-PECVD system, which was driven by a pulsed-RF generator at 80 MHz. In order to solve the cross-contamination problem of p-i layer, high RF power was applied without supplying SiH4 gas after p-layer deposition, which effectively cleaned B contamination inside chamber wall from p-layer deposition. In addition to the p-i interface control, various interface control techniques such as thin layer of TiO2 deposition to prevent H2 plasma reduction of FTO layer, multiple applications of thin i-layer deposition and H2 plasma treatment, H2 plasma treatment of i-layer prior to n-layer deposition, etc. were developed. In order to reduce the reflection at the air-glass interface, anti-reflective SiO2 coating was also adopted. The initial solar cell efficiency over 11% could be achieved for test cell area of 0.2 $cm^2$.

• 한국진공학회:학술대회논문집
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• 한국진공학회 2014년도 제46회 동계 정기학술대회 초록집
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• pp.320-320
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• 2014

Amorphous silicon alloy (a-Si) solar cells and modules have been receiving a great deal of attention as a low-cost alternate energy source for large-scale terrestrial applications. Key to the achievement of high-efficiency solar cells using the multi-junction approach is the development of high quality, low band-gap materials which can capture the low-energy photons of the solar spectrum. Several cell designs have been reported in the past where grading or buffer layers have been incorporated at the junction interface to reduce carrier recombination near the junction. We have investigated profiling the composition of the a-SiGe alloy throughout the bulk of the intrinsic material so as to have a built-in electrical field in a substantial portion of the intrinsic material. As a result, the band gap mismatch between a-Si:H and $a-Si_{1-x}Ge_x:H$ creates a barrier for carrier transport. Previous reports have proposed a graded band gap structure in the absorber layer not only effectively increases the short wavelength absorption near the p/i interface, but also enhances the hole transport near the i-n interface. Here, we modulated the GeH4 flow rate to control the band gap to be graded from 1.75 eV (a-Si:H) to 1.55 eV ($a-Si_{1-x}Ge_x:H$). The band structure in the absorber layer thus became like a U-shape in which the lowest band gap was located in the middle of the i-layer. Incorporation of this structure in the middle and top cell of the triple-cell configuration is expected to increase the conversion efficiency further.

• 한국진공학회:학술대회논문집
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• 한국진공학회 2014년도 제46회 동계 정기학술대회 초록집
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• pp.322.1-322.1
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• 2014

Many research groups have studied tandem or multi-junction cells to overcome this low efficiency and degradation. In multi-junction cells, band-gap engineering of each absorb layer is needed to absorb the light at various wavelengths efficiently. Various absorption layers can be formed using multi-junctions, such as hydrogenated amorphous silicon carbide (a-SiC:H), amorphous silicon germanium (a-SiGe:H) and microcrystalline silicon (${\mu}c$-Si:H), etc. Among them, ${\mu}c$-Si:H is the bottom absorber material because it has a low band-gap and does not exhibit light-induced degradation like amorphous silicon. Nevertheless, ${\mu}c$-Si:H requires a much thicker material (>2 mm) to absorb sufficient light due to its smaller light absorption coefficient, highlighting the need for a high growth rate for productivity. ${\mu}c$-SiGe:H has a much higher absorption coefficient than ${\mu}c$-Si:H at the low energy wavelength, meaning that the thickness of the absorption layer can be decreased to less than half that of ${\mu}c$-Si:H. ${\mu}c$-SiGe:H films were prepared using 40 MHz very high frequency PECVD method at 1 Torr. SiH4 and GeH4 were used as a reactive gas and H2 was used as a dilution gas. In this study, the ${\mu}c$-SiGe:H layer for triple solar cells applications was performed to optimize the film properties.

• Transactions on Electrical and Electronic Materials
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• 제17권2호
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• pp.98-103
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• 2016

The surface morphology of the front transparent conductive oxide (TCO) films plays a vital role in amorphous silicon thin film solar cells (a-Si TFSCs) due to their high transparency, conductivity and excellent light scattering properties. Recently, plasma textured glass surface morphologies received much attention for light trapping in a-Si TFSCs. We report various plasma textured glass surface morphologies for the high efficiency of a-Si TFSCs. Plasma textured glass surface morphologies showed high rms roughness, haze ratio with micro- and nano size surface features and are proposed for future high efficiency of a-Si TFSCs.

• Current Photovoltaic Research
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• 제2권3호
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• pp.103-109
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• 2014

Highly efficient hydrogenated nanocrystalline silicon (nc-Si:H) thin-film solar cells were prepared on flexible stainless steel substrates using plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition. To enhance the performance of solar cells, material properties of back reflectors, n-doped seed layers and wide bandgap nc-SiC:H window layers were optimized. The light scattering efficiency of Ag back reflectors was improved by increasing the surface roughness of the films deposited at elevated substrate temperatures. Using the n-doped seed layers with high crystallinity, the initial crystal growth of intrinsic nc-Si:H absorber layers was improved, resulting in the elimination of the defect-dense amorphous regions at the n/i interfaces. The nc-SiC:H window layers with high bandgap over 2.2 eV were deposited under high hydrogen dilution conditions. The vertical current flow of the films was enhanced by the formation of Si nanocrystallites in the amorphous SiC:H matrix. Under optimized conditions, a high conversion efficiency of 9.13% ($V_{oc}=0.52$, $J_{sc}=25.45mA/cm^2$, FF = 0.69) was achieved for the flexible nc-Si:H thin-film solar cells.

• Current Photovoltaic Research
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• 제12권2호
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• pp.41-47
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• 2024

CIGS solar cells are thin film solar cells that have excellent light absorption coefficient and can be manufactured with high efficiency through the use of low materials. In Korea, they must pass KS certification for home and commercial installation. KS C 8562 is a standard for evaluating the durability of CIGS and thin film amorphous silicon solar modules and deals with contents such as light, temperature, humidity, and mechanical durability. Unlike general crystalline silicon solar modules, the CIGS solar module has a different behavior of output change through these environmental tests, so if it shows 90% or more of the rated output suggested by the manufacturer after the final test, it is judged to be a suitable product. In this paper, the output before and after individual tests was measured through the test method of KS C 8562 to observe the output change and to discover the vulnerabilities of the CIGS solar module when exposed to various environments. Through this, it was confirmed that humidity exposure was the most vulnerable and that it had output recovery characteristics for light (visible light and ultraviolet rays). This study attempted to present the output behavior characteristics and data of the CIGS module at the time when the high efficiency thin film photovoltaic module market is expected to be created in the future.

• 한국진공학회:학술대회논문집
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• 한국진공학회 2014년도 제46회 동계 정기학술대회 초록집
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• pp.135.1-135.1
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• 2014

Silicon nanoparticles can be synthesized in a standard radio-frequency glow discharge system at low temperature (${\sim}200^{\circ}C$). Plasma synthesis of silicon nanoparticles, initially a side effect of powder formation, has become over the years an exciting field of research which has opened the way to new opportunities in the field of materials deposition and their application to optoelectronic devices. Hydrogenated polymorphous silicon (pm-Si:H) has a peculiar microstructure, namely a small volume fraction of plasma synthesized silicon nanoparticles embedded in an amorphous matrix, which originates from the unique deposition mechanism. Detailed discussion on plasma synthesis of silicon nanoparticles, growth mechanism and photovoltaic application of pm-Si:H will be presented.

• 한국진공학회:학술대회논문집
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• 한국진공학회 2016년도 제50회 동계 정기학술대회 초록집
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• pp.295-295
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• 2016

Recently, TCO films with low carrier concentration, high mobility and high work function are proposed beneficial as front electrode in HIT solar cell due to free-carrier absorption in NIR wavelength region and low Schottky barrier height in the front TCO/a-Si:H(p) interface. We report high transmittance and work function zirconium-doped indium tin oxide (ITO:Zr) films with various plasma (Ar/O2 and Ar) conditions. The role of (Ar/O2) plasma was to enhance the work function of the ITO:Zr films whereas the pure Ar plasma based ITO:Zr showed good electrical properties. The RF magnetron sputtered ITO:Zr films with low resistivity and high transmittance were employed as front electrode in HIT solar cells, yield the best performance of 18.15% with an open-circuit voltage of 710 eV and current density of 34.63 mA/cm2. The high work function ITO:Zr films can be used to modify the front barrier height of HIT solar cell.

• 한국신재생에너지학회:학술대회논문집
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• 한국신재생에너지학회 2007년도 춘계학술대회
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• pp.280-283
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• 2007

The first grid-connected, building-integrated transparent amorphous silicon photovoltaic installation has been operated since October 2004 in Yongin, Korea. The 2.2kWp transparent PV system was applied to the facade of entrance hall in newly constructed KOLON E&C R&D building. The PV module is a nominal 0.98m ${\times}$ 0.95m, 10% transparent, laminated, amorphous(a-Si) thin-film device rated at 44 Wp per module. To demonstrate the architectural features of thin film PV technologies for daylighting application, transparent PV modules are attached to the building envelope with the form of single glazed window and special point glazing(SPG) frames. Besides power generation, the 10% transmittance of a-Si PV module provides very smooth natural daylight to the entrance hall without any special shading devices for whole year. The installation is fully instrumented and is continuously monitored in order to allow the performance assessment of amorphous silicon PV operating at the prevailing conditions. This paper presents measured power performance data from the first 12 months of operation. For the first year, annual average system specific yield was just 486.4kWh/kWp/year which is almost half of typical amorphous silicon PV output under the best angle and orientation. It should be caused by building orientation and self-shading of adjacent mass. Besides annual power output, various statistical analysis was performed to identify the characteristics of transparent thin film PV system.

• 한국신재생에너지학회:학술대회논문집
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• 한국신재생에너지학회 2009년도 춘계학술대회 논문집
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• pp.49-52
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• 2009

Practical building integrated photovoltaic system built by Kolon E&C has been monitored and evaluated with respect to power generation, which was installed in Deokpyeong Eco Service Area in Deokpyeong, Gyeonggi, Korea. The amorphous silicon transparent PV module in this BIPV system has 44Wp in power output per unit module and 10% of transmittance with the unit dimension with $980mm{\times}950mm$. The BIPV system was applied as the skylight in the main entrance of the building. This study provided the database for the practical application of the transparent thin-film PV module for BIPV system through 11 month monitoring as well as various statistical analyses such as monthly power output and insolation. Average monthly power output of the system was 52.9kWh/kWp/month which is a 60% of power output of the previously reported data obtained under $30^{\circ}$of an inclined PV module facing south(azimuth=0). This lower power output can be explained by the installation condition of the building facing east, west and south, which was resulted from the influence of azimuth.