Thin Flexible Crystalline Silicon for Photovoltaics

Preliminary results of a Silicon-On-Insulator to polymer transfer technique capable of producing large area flexible crystalline silicon layer of thicknesses between 0.4 and 2.0 μm, are presented. Formation of a shallow pn junction using ion implantation of Phosphorus was confirmed through capacitance-voltage measurements with further analysis of these results revealing a sharp junction definition. Further to these results, photocurrent spectroscopy measurements show a clean photo-response, indicative of highly crystalline doped silicon. The results presented show that there is great promise for this transfer technique in the fabrication of thin flexible silicon devices, with the observed photo-response further suggesting using this process for production of flexible photovoltaic devices. Some of the issues with production of such devices over large surface areas, as well as device design issues are discussed, along with some measurements that should be performed to give a better understanding of the performance of these devices under varying conditions.