Optimal Conditions for Nickel Doping to Improve the Efficiency of Silicon Photoelectric Cells

The stability of a nickel-enriched silicon surface layer against thermal treatment has been studied. It has been shown that the surface layer persists at temperatures below 900°C. In addition, it has been found that doping of a silicon photoelectric cell with nickel improves the cell efficiency irrespective of the p–n junction depth. The optimal conditions for nickel diffusion into silicon have been determined to be T = 800–850°C and t = 30 min. The short-circuit current of a nickel-doped photoelectric cell has been shown to rise throughout the spectral spectrum studied. It addition, it has been shown that nickel doping preceding the formation of a p–n junction is more efficient and technologically simpler. The improvement in the parameters of nickel-doped cell is associated mostly with the improved properties of the surface layer.