A novel approach for modeling and simulation of a-Si/c-Si1−xGex/c-Si hetrostructure thin-film solar cells

Numerical simulation of a-Si/c-Si
_1-x
Ge
_x
/c-Si hetrostructure was performed. Advanced modeling and simulation tools were used for this study. It was found that p-Si
_1-x
Ge
_x
film can play a critical role to improve the light absorption properties of the design structure. Study was performed for varying thickness of Si
_1-x
Ge
_x
alloyed layer, where, Ge composition was kept constant ~10% throughout. An approach relying on the phenomena of improved absorption properties that corresponds to the gain in the short-circuit current was explored. Numerical results showed that for p-Si
_1-x
Ge
_x
thickness ~5°m, n
⁺
and p
⁺
doping concentrations ~2×10
¹⁹
cm
^-3
and ~2×10
¹⁸
cm
^-3
, an efficiency ~19.07% was obtained.