Exploration of different materials for solar cells : hole selective layer and space radiation effects

Details

Supervisors

Flandre, Denis

Faculty

Ecole polytechnique de Louvain

Degree label

Master [120] : ingénieur civil physicien, à finalité spécialisée

Abstract

In this thesis, we study two subjects related to the solar cell. The first one aims to increase efficiency by decreasing the recombination at the interface thanks to passivation and hole selective layer. To achieve this objective, straightforward structures are made from high-quality p-type silicon wafers with a silicon dioxide layer (passivation) and a metal oxide as hole selective, like NiO and WO3, on top of it. Their quality and selectivity are then assessed with the following measurements: IV, CV and carrier lifetime. We demonstrate the selectivity effect for NiO. However, we cannot further compare the two oxides due to the high number of defects created during the deposition process. Therefore, a new recipe and other deposition methods are proposed to overcome it. The second studied subject covers the performance degradation of a solar cell due to space radiation. Three solar cells are irradiated to compare the impact on those three technologies: triple-junction gallium-based, silicon and CIGS. To assess the degradation, multiples measurements are done before and after radiation: Light IV, dark IV, CV and noise. We demonstrate that the triple junction is the most resilient and proposed possible degradation mechanism for each solar cell.