Session M1: Plenary Session IV
3:00 PM–3:50 PM, Saturday, October 16, 2010
Room: Ballroom B
Chair: Colin Inglefield, Weber State University
Abstract ID: BAPS.2010.4CF.M1.1
Abstract: M1.00001 : Peering into the heart of a solar cell
3:00 PM–3:50 PM
Preview Abstract MathJax On | Off
Author:
Jennifer Heath
(Linfield College)
In recent years, low-cost solar cell technologies have taken major strides, emerging out of the research laboratory into the marketplace. Still, a great deal of work remains to understand the electronic properties of these rather imperfect, non-single-crystalline materials, and improve the efficiencies of devices. We have been working to extract quantitative information about fundamental electronic properties of semiconductor-based solar cell devices from scanning electron microscopy and scanning probe microscopy images. These include the exact location of the p-n junction, the depletion region width, and the existence of depletion regions near certain grain boundaries. From these studies arise interesting questions about our fundamental understanding of the interaction of a probe with the semiconductor surface, while our results also contribute to the practical application of these techniques in understanding, and improving, the electronic properties of solar cells.
To cite this abstract, use the following reference: http://meetings.aps.org/link/BAPS.2010.4CF.M1.1