Abstract
Conference Title: 2013 IEEE 39th Photovoltaic Specialists Conference (PVSC) Conference Start Date: 2013, June 16 Conference End Date: 2013, June 21 Conference Location: Tampa, FL, USA We performed two experiments to measure lateral flow of photoexcited charge carriers near the heterointerface in silicon heterojunction (SHJ) solar cells. Using light beam methods, we probed current extraction differences between areas of varying intrinsic layer thickness and the effective cross section of junction defects. Both measurements demonstrated a strong bias voltage dependence of lateral transport and transport lengths of tens to hundreds of microns as bias approached operating voltages. Lateral carrier flow near the heterointerface is proposed as one of the reasons that SHJ solar cells are extremely sensitive to interfacial defects. [PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]