Jan Bauer

Fraunhofer Center for Silicon Photovoltaics

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Otwin Breitenstein

Max Planck Institute of Microstructure Physics

Christian Hagendorf

Fraunhofer Center for Silicon Photovoltaics

Volker Naumann

Fraunhofer Center for Silicon Photovoltaics

J.‐M. Wagner

Kiel University

H. Blumtritt

Max Planck Institute of Microstructure Physics

Wolfram Kwapil

Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems

Marko Turek

Fraunhofer Center for Silicon Photovoltaics

Angelika Hähnel

Fraunhofer Center for Silicon Photovoltaics

Andriy Lotnyk

Leibniz Institute of Surface Engineering

Dominik Lausch

Fraunhofer Center for Silicon Photovoltaics

Cooperative Institutions

Bellingham Technical College

Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems

Fraunhofer Society

Max Planck Institute of Microstructure Physics

Fraunhofer Center for Silicon Photovoltaics

Max Planck Society

UNSW Sydney

Fraunhofer Institute for Microstructure of Materials and Systems

Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg

University of Freiburg

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Growth of carbon and nitrogen containing precipitates in crystalline solar silicon and their influence on solar cells

physica status solidi (RRL) - Rapid Research Letters (2017)

Susanne Richter Jan Bauer Otwin Breitenstein

magnified image The growth mechanisms, structural, mechanical, and electrical properties of silicon carbide and silicon nitride precipitates in solar silicon are reviewed and some new aspects about the distribution of trace elements in these precipitates are reported in this review. SiC and Si 3 N 4 precipitates may have detrimental impact on the quality of solar silicon material. Therefore intensive research has been done at these precipitates in the past, which is summarized first. The properties of the different types of precipitates reported in literature are then described in detail. Especially SiC precipitates may have detrimental impact on the electrical behavior of solar cells by causing severe ohmic shunting. Furthermore SiC precipitates are very hard and may harm the wafering process. An outlook of the impact of such precipitates on new cell concepts and new solar silicon materials, such as n‐type, is given.

Carbon fibers

10.1002/pssr.201600354

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Citations (14)

多結晶シリコン太陽電池における前破壊誘起針状α-FeSi 2 の電子顕微鏡検証

Journal of Applied Physics (2013)

Angelika Haehnel Jan Bauer H. Blumtritt Otwin Breitenstein D Lausch

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Electrical properties of nominally undoped silicon nanowires grown by molecular-beam epitaxy

Applied Physics Letters (2007)

Jan Bauer Frank Fleischer Otwin Breitenstein Luise Schubert P. Werner

Single undoped Si nanowires were electrically characterized. The nanowires were grown by molecular-beam epitaxy on n+ silicon substrates and were contacted by platinum/iridium tips. I-V curves were measured and electron beam induced current investigations were performed on single nanowires. It was found that the nanowires have an apparent resistivity of 0.85Ωcm, which is much smaller than expected for undoped Si nanowires. The conductance is explained by hopping conductivity at the Si–SiO2 interface of the nanowire surface.

10.1063/1.2428402

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Citations (61)

On the detection of shunts in silicon solar cells by photo‐ and electroluminescence imaging

Progress in Photovoltaics Research and Applications (2007)

Otwin Breitenstein Jan Bauer Thorsten Trupke R.A. Bardos

Abstract Recently electroluminescence (EL) and photoluminescence (PL) imaging were reported to allow detection of strong ohmic shunts in silicon solar cells. Comparing lock‐in thermography (LIT) images with luminescence images of various shunted cells, measured under different conditions, the ability of luminescence techniques for shunt detection is investigated. Luminescence imaging allows identifying ohmic shunts only if they reach a certain strength. The detection limit for PL measurements of linear shunts was estimated to be in the order of 15 mA at 0·5 V bias for a point‐like shunt in multicrystalline (mc) cells. Pre‐breakdown sites can also be detected by electroluminescence under reverse bias. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Ohmic contact

10.1002/pip.803

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Citations (124)

Can Luminescence Imaging Replace Lock-in Thermography on Solar Cells?

IEEE Journal of Photovoltaics (2011)

Otwin Breitenstein Jan Bauer Karsten Bothe David Hinken Jens Müller

The purpose of this paper is a detailed comparison of selected luminescence and lock-in thermography (LIT) results on one exemplary sample and the drawing of corresponding conclusions. Our focus is on solar cells, but some investigations on wafers will be discussed as well. The comparison will help to decide which characterization tools are needed to solve technological problems. It will be demonstrated that luminescence imaging may widely replace LIT with respect to the analysis of recombination-active bulk defects, cracks, series resistance, and junction breakdown sites. However, some important investigations can be done only by LIT. LIT allows for a quantitative analysis of different kinds of leakage currents both under forward and under reverse bias, enabling a reliable analysis of local I-V characteristics. It is shown that LIT and luminescence imaging are complementary to each other and should be used in combination.

Thermography

Characterization

Leakage (economics)

10.1109/jphotov.2011.2169394

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Citations (73)

Physical Mechanisms of Breakdown in Multicrystalline Silicon Solar Cells

World Conference on Photovoltaic Energy Conversion (2009)

Gianluca Coletti P.C.P. Bronsveld J.‐M. Wagner Andriy Lotnyk Jan Bauer

10.4229/24theupvsec2009-2dp.2.5

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Citations (9)

Evolution of Corrosive Potential‐Induced Degradation at the Rear Side of Bifacial Passivated Emitter and Rear Solar Cells

physica status solidi (RRL) - Rapid Research Letters (2021)

Kai Sporleder Jan Bauer Bengt Jäckel Volker Nauman Marko Turek

Detrimental corrosive potential‐induced degradation at the rear side of bifacial solar cells has been found recently. This potential‐induced degradation effect is nonreversible and shows typical surface damages in the micrometer scale. However, also areas in the cells showing no such surface damage suffer from electrical losses. Cracks in the nanometer scale underneath the surface, that is, at the interface between Si bulk and Al 2 O 3 , turn out to be the cause of this effect, leading to depassivation effects. The emergence of these cracks is assumed to originate from oxidation of the Si bulk due to potential‐induced degradation stress.

Degradation

Passivation

Nanometre

Micrometer

Stress Relief

10.1002/pssr.202100519

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Citations (1)

Understanding junction breakdown in multicrystalline solar cells

Journal of Applied Physics (2011)

Otwin Breitenstein Jan Bauer Karsten Bothe Wolfram Kwapil Dominik Lausch

Extensive investigations on industrial multicrystalline silicon solar cells have shown that, for standard 1 Ω cm material, acid-etched texturization, and in absence of strong ohmic shunts, there are three different types of breakdown appearing in different reverse bias ranges. Between −4 and −9 V there is early breakdown (type 1), which is due to Al contamination of the surface. Between −9 and −13 V defect-induced breakdown (type 2) dominates, which is due to metal-containing precipitates lying within recombination-active grain boundaries. Beyond −13 V we may find in addition avalanche breakdown (type 3) at etch pits, which is characterized by a steep slope of the I-V characteristic, avalanche carrier multiplication by impact ionization, and a negative temperature coefficient of the reverse current. If instead of acid-etching alkaline-etching is used, all these breakdown classes also appear, but their onset voltage is enlarged by several volts. Also for cells made from upgraded metallurgical grade material these classes can be distinguished. However, due to the higher net doping concentration of this material, their onset voltage is considerably reduced here.

Ohmic contact

Avalanche breakdown

Impact ionization

Reverse bias

10.1063/1.3562200

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Citations (134)

Illuminated lock‐in thermography at different wavelengths for distinguishing shunts in top and bottom layers of tandem solar cells

Physica status solidi. C, Conferences and critical reviews/Physica status solidi. C, Current topics in solid state physics (2011)

H. Straube M. Siegloch Andreas Gerber Jan Bauer Otwin Breitenstein

Abstract We investigate shunting in a micromorph silicon tandem solar module using dark and illuminated lock‐in thermography (DLIT and ILIT). Shunts are identified and quantified using DLIT. We then show how to isolate the layer causing the individual shunts by using white, blue, and infrared excitation spectra for the pulsed illumination in ILIT. (© 2011 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

Tandem

Thermography

Lock (firearm)

10.1002/pssc.201084026

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Citations (8)

Influence of Defects on Solar Cell Characteristics

Diffusion and defect data, solid state data. Part B, Solid state phenomena/Solid state phenomena (2009)

Otwin Breitenstein Jan Bauer Pietro P. Altermatt K. Ramspeck

The current-voltage (I-V) characteristics of most industrial silicon solar cells deviate rather strongly from the exponential behavior expected from textbook knowledge. Thus, the recombination current may be orders of magnitude larger than expected for the given material quality and often shows an ideality factor larger than 2 in a wide bias-range, which cannot be explained by classical theory either. Sometimes, the cells contain ohmic shunts although the cell’s edges have been perfectly insolated. Even in the absence of such shunts, the characteristics are linear or super-linear under reverse bias, while a saturation would be classically expected. Especially in multicrystalline cells the breakdown does not tend to occur at -50 V reverse bias, as expected, but already at about -15 V or even below. These deviations are typically caused by extended defects in the cells. This paper reviews the present knowledge of the origin of such non-ideal I-V characteristics of silicon solar cells and introduces new results on recombination involving coupled defect levels.

Ohmic contact

Saturation current

Reverse bias

10.4028/www.scientific.net/ssp.156-158.1

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Citations (66)