Silicon epitaxial solar cell with 663-mV open-circuit voltage

Abstract

Silicon films of 20 μm thickness have been grown epitaxially on silicon substrates by liquid-phase epitaxy. Solar cells fabricated on such layers display open-circuit voltages as high as 663 mV (AM1.5, 25 °C), a value which exceeds previous data by a large margin. High open-circuit voltages are a prerequisite for thin-film solar cells with high efficiencies. Our result has applications to both space cells and to low-cost terrestrial cells.