Impact of Band-gap Graded Intrinsic Layer on Single-junction Band-gap Tailored Solar Cells

Objectives: The work investigates the performance of intrinsic layers with and without band-gap tailoring in single-junction amorphous silicon-based photovoltaic cells. The work proposes single-junction amorphous silicon solar cells in which band-gap grading has been done between layers as well as within each layer for the first time. Materials & Methods: The samples of hydrogenated amorphous silicon-germanium with different mole fractions are fabricated, and their band-gaps are validated through optical characterization and material characterization. A single-junction solar cell with an intrinsic layer made up of hydrogenated amorphous silicon (aSi:H) having a band-gap of 1.6 eV is replaced by continuously graded hydrogenated amorphous silicon-germanium (aSi1-xGexH) intrinsic bottom layers having band-gaps ranging from 0.9 eV to 1.5 eV. The proposed structure has been considered as a variant of previously designed single-junction band-gap tailored structures. Results: The suitable utilization of band-gap tailoring on the intrinsic absorber layer aids more incident photons in energy conversion and thereby attain a better short circuit current density of 19.89 mA/cm2. © 2022 Bentham Science Publishers.