Photoelectric conversion device utilizing fibrous silicon

Abstract

Abstract A PIN type semiconductor photoelectric conversion device is provided with a non-single-crystal semiconductor laminate member which comprises a first non-single-crystal semiconductor layer of a first conductivity, an I-type second non-single-crystal semiconductor layer and a third non-single-crystal semiconductor layer of a second conductivity type, and first and second electrodes which make ohmic contact with the first and third non-single-crystal semiconductor layers, respectively. Either one or both of the first and third non-single-crystal semiconductor layers have a fibrous structure which has a smaller light absorption coefficient than do the non-single-crystal semiconductors of the amorphous and microcrystalline structures formed of the same semiconductor material. The non-single crystal semiconductor layer of the fibrous structure is formed by a chemical vapor reaction of a gas mixture of semiconductor material gas, recombination center neutralizer gas and impurity material gas in a reaction chamber in the same manner as has been employed in the manufacture of the conventional semiconductor photoelectric conversion devices. In this case, the substrate on which the non-single-crystal semiconductor layer is to be formed is disposed so that a stream of the gas mixture may be passed over the substrate, and chemical vapor reaction is carried out at a pressure of 0.001 to 10 Torr and 100° to 400° C. in the reaction chamber.

Inventors

• 👤 Shunpei Yamazaki

Bibliographic Details