Solid state Physics and Magnetism (BM)
Thin films of amorphous silicon are now used for the passivation of the silicon solar cells’ surface. Due to higher energy conversion efficiency these so-called heterostructure solar cells are likely to become the main technology in photovoltaics by the year 2030. To further increase the efficiency, it is necessary to avoid losses caused by shielding by the front contacts. We can transfer both contacts to the back of the cell, creating interdigital contacts. That means stacking thin layers of amorphous silicon. From a practical point of view, the structuring by masks applied to the cell during deposition of the amorphous layer proves useful. It is important to verify the shape and properties of the deposited structure. Optical profilometry imaging and direct imaging of these layers is a topic that we solved during the EU 2020 H NextBase project. This method has been identified as a significant outcome of the project and we continue its improvement.
