Novel Milisecond annealing for high-performance PV concepts

To meet the demands for superior materials and technologies for future electrical energy generation, the present project sets out to explore flash lamp annealing (FLA) as a low-cost processing technique for high performance zinc oxide- and multicrystallin e silicon-based photovoltaic (PV) devices. A more in-depth understanding and better control of the electrical response of intrinsic and impurity related defects will enable further expansion of the aforementioned semiconductors as candidate materials for present and future PV applications. To verify in detail the potential of FLA, extensive studies of the interplay between annealing parameters and the resulting properties of the fabricated structures will be conducted. By varying temperature and pulse dur ation, the evolution of the structural, optical and electrical characteristics of the materials annealed will be determined by means of X-ray diffraction, electron transmission microscopy, secondary ion mass spectrometry, Rutherford backscattering spectro metry, sheet resistance, laser beam induced current, photovoltage, u-Raman spectroscopy and photoluminescence, while the defects will be studied by deep level transient spectroscopy, admittance spectroscopy and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The results will then be compared and evaluated relative to those reported for PVs processed by standard routes. To facilitate the selection of the optimal annealing conditions, preliminary simulations of the temperature distribution within the sample struct ures will be performed. Based on our findings, a novel and cost-efficient millisecond-range annealing concept for the fabrication of mc-Si and ZnO-based PV devices will be proposed. To validate the application of ion implantation for PV processing, two d ifferent methods: ion beam implantation and plasma immersion ion implantation will be explored. Their effect on the performance of the resulting PV element will be elaborated.