Nanocrystalline silicon thin film growth and application for silicon heterojunction solar cells: a short review.

Doped nanocrystalline silicon (nc-Si:H) thin films offer improved carrier transport characteristics and reduced parasitic absorption compared to amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) films for silicon heterojunction (SHJ) solar cell application. In this article, we review the growth conditions of nc-Si:H thin films as the carrier-selective layers for SHJ solar cells. Surface and growth zone models are analysed at different stages of incubation, nucleation, and growth of the silicon nanocrystallites within the hydrogenated amorphous silicon matrix.