Amorphous silicon thin film solar cell and Schottky barrier diode on a common substrate.

摘要

A thin film p-i-n solar cell (12) and Schottky barrier diode (14) are fabricated adjacent one another on a common flexible polyimide substrate (16). A titanium nitride diffusion barrier (24) prevents contaminants of an aluminum contact layer (22) on the substrate (16) from reacting with the semiconductor body of the solar cell (12) and diode (14) during subsequent fabrication. An n<+>-type hydrogenated amorphous silicon layer (26) overlies the layer of titanium nitride (24), and forms an ohmic contact with the solar cell (12) and diode (14). The diode (14) includes an n-type layer (36) of silicon doped with phosphorus to a concentration (36) of 10<1><8> to 10<2><0> atoms per cubic centimeter to increase its forward current density. The solar cell (12) and diode (14) are separated from one another by an epoxy strip (28). A top conducting oxide layer (38) forms a Schottky barrier with the semiconductor body of the diode (14).