Degradation Mechanism and Stability Improvement of Dopant-Free ZnO/LiFx/Al Electron Nanocontacts in Silicon Heterojunction Solar Cells

Dopant-free passivating contacts for photovoltaics have the potential to be deposited at low costs, while providing excellent surface passivation and low contact resistance. However, one pressing issue of dopant-free carrier selective contacts is their lower environmental stability compared to conventional silicon-based contacts. In this contribution, we study the degradation in ZnO/LiFx/Al electron selective nanocontact with experiments and simulations, and suggest design modifications for higher performance and stability. Using a thicker metallization and optimal ZnO deposition temperature (130 °C), we improved open-circuit voltage and fill-factor, together with improved stability with a retention of over 93% and 88% of the initial open-circuit voltage and fill-factor after storage in air for 380 h. The champion device has reached the efficiency of 21.3% with VOC of 727 mV, JSC of 37.6 mA/cm2, and FF of 78.0%. Furthermore, the enhanced stability in vacuum, STEM images, and the current-exchange simulation suggests that the degradation of the a-Si: H(i)/ZnO/LiFx/Al contact is caused by a drop of the LiFx/Al work function, due to interaction with air. This work has developed a deep understanding of degradation mechanism and the methodology of stability analysis for dopant-free silicon solar cells.