An Al p‐silicon MOS photovoltaic cell

An MOS photovoltaic diode, consisting of Al on p‐type silicon with a thin interfacial layer of SiO2, has been found to have good conversion efficiency for solar radiation. Measurements of capacitance versus voltage, current versus voltage, and photocurrent per absorbed photon indicate a most probable surface barrier height of 0.85 eV, approximately twice as large as that for the normal Al p‐type silicon diode. A single‐layer antireflection coating of silicon monoxide or zinc sulfide was found to increase the short‐circuit current by approximately 50%. Double‐layer coatings of zinc sulfide over silicon monoxide gave nearly the same increase with a shift of the maximum diode response to the near infrared. Absolute light‐conversion efficiencies of 8% at one sunlight level were obtained with short‐circuit current densities as high as 26.5 mA/cm2.

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