Solar Cell Device Physics, 2nd Edition

Chapter Six

Surface-barrier Solar Cells

6.1 Introduction

Surface-barrier solar cells all use only one semiconductor, in one doping type. They all have an electrostatic-field barrier, which begins at the semiconductor surface, as the principal source of photovoltaic action. The built-in electrostatic field can extend across the whole semiconductor, analogous to a p–i–n structure, or, at the other extreme, it can be confined to the semiconductor’s near-surface region. There are basically two types of surface-barrier cells; they can be distinguished by the materials system used to form the semiconductor electrostatic field barrier: one type is the all-solid-state cell and the other is the electrolyte–solid-state cell. The all-solid-state cell has ...