JP2003158276A - Microcrystal silicon solar cell and its manufacturing method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a microcrystal silicon solar cell that is high in open circuit voltage and is superior in efficiency, and its manufacturing method. SOLUTION: A transparent electrode, a microcrystal silicon p layer, a microcrystal silicon i layer, a microcrystal silicon n layer, and a rear metallic electrode are stacked in sequence on a transparent insulative substrate to form a microcrystal silicon solar cell. In this microcrystal silicon solar cell, an amorphous silicon layer is provided in a boundary between the microcrystal silicon p layer and microcrystal silicon i layer and in its adjacent region.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a pin or a nip.
The present invention relates to a microcrystalline silicon solar cell having a structure and a method for manufacturing the same.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A conventional solar cell having a pin structure is
It is manufactured as follows using the plasma CVD apparatus shown in FIG. A transparent insulating substrate 11 is placed on the anode 2 containing a heater, and the inside of the reaction vessel 1 is evacuated. After forming the transparent electrode on the substrate 11, SiH ₄ as a main gas, H ₂ as a dilution gas, and B ₂ H ₆ as a doping gas are supplied into the reaction vessel 1, and a power source 6 via an impedance matching device 5 is used. A high frequency is applied to the cathode 3 to generate discharge plasma 9 between the cathode 3 and the anode 2. Each source gas is ionized by plasma 9 to become reactive ions, and these reactive ions react with the surface of the substrate 11 to deposit a p-type microcrystalline silicon layer (microcrystalline p layer) on the substrate. . Next, SiH ₄ is used as a main gas and H ₂ is used as a diluting gas to supply it into the reaction vessel 1 to form an i-type microcrystalline silicon layer on the microcrystalline p layer. Furthermore, SiH ₄ is the main gas,
H ₂ is supplied as a diluent gas and PH ₃ is used as a doping gas into the reaction vessel 1 to form an n-type microcrystalline silicon layer on the substrate. Further, when a back surface electrode made of a metal such as aluminum is formed on the n-type microcrystalline silicon layer, a solar cell having a pin structure including both positive and negative electrodes is obtained.

Although generally referred to as microcrystal, microcrystal silicon generally represents a mixture of crystal silicon and amorphous silicon. Here, what has a peak (520 cm ⁻¹ ) of a microcrystalline silicon spectrum by Raman spectroscopy is referred to as “microcrystalline”.

[0004]

However, in the conventional solar cell, the open-circuit voltage is at a sufficient level because of the mismatch between the interfaces between layers or due to the defect level near the interfaces. Does not rise to In particular, the mismatch between layers at the p / i interface is extremely large, which is a factor that hinders the improvement of the open circuit voltage.

As described above, in the conventional solar cell, since the open circuit voltage is low and insufficient, the power generation efficiency is at a low level at present. There is a strong demand from users to improve the efficiency of solar cells, and there is an urgent need to develop and commercialize highly efficient solar cells.

The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a microcrystalline silicon solar cell having a high open circuit voltage and high efficiency, and a method for manufacturing the same.

[0007]

A microcrystalline silicon solar cell according to the present invention comprises a transparent insulating substrate, a transparent electrode, and a p
In a microcrystalline silicon solar cell in which a p-type, i-type, n-type microcrystalline silicon layer and a back surface metal electrode are laminated
It is characterized by having an amorphized silicon layer at the p / i interface between the type microcrystalline silicon layer and the microcrystalline silicon i layer and in the vicinity thereof.

A method of manufacturing a microcrystalline silicon solar cell according to the present invention is a transparent insulating substrate, a transparent electrode, a p-type, and an i-type.
In the method of manufacturing a microcrystalline silicon solar cell, in which a p-type microcrystalline silicon layer, an n-type microcrystalline silicon layer, and a back surface metal electrode are laminated, Alternatively, the surface of the i-type microcrystalline silicon layer before laminating the p-type microcrystalline silicon layer is exposed to hydrogen gas plasma, and active species in the hydrogen gas plasma are caused to act on the p-type or i-type microcrystal. The surface of the silicon layer is etched, and the i-type or p-type microcrystalline silicon layer is laminated on the etched surface to form an amorphized p / i interface.

When the surface of the p-type microcrystalline silicon layer is etched by hydrogen gas plasma and then the i-type microcrystalline silicon i layer is stacked on the etched surface, the open circuit voltage increases and the power generation efficiency increases. By etching with hydrogen gas plasma, the vicinity of the interface becomes amorphous and the crystal grain boundaries do not exist. Therefore, a pin structure having an active p / i interface that is not easily affected by defects existing in many crystal grain boundaries can be obtained. It is presumed to be a tame.

On the other hand, even if the surface of the i-type microcrystalline silicon layer is etched by hydrogen gas plasma and then the p-type microcrystalline silicon layer is laminated on the etched surface, the power generation efficiency is increased by the same effect. .

Further, even when an amorphous silicon thin film layer having a thickness of 5 to 30 nm is inserted between the microcrystalline silicon p layer and the microcrystalline silicon i layer, the power generation efficiency is improved by increasing the open circuit voltage. The effect of improving the open-circuit voltage is almost saturated at a film thickness of about 30 nm, and if the thickness of the amorphous silicon thin film layer is further exceeded, the short-circuit current will decrease and the efficiency will decrease, so the upper limit was made 30 nm.
On the other hand, when the film thickness is less than 5 nm, there is no effect.
The lower limit value was set to 5 nm.

In addition to improving the p / i interface mismatch,
It is presumed that the open-circuit voltage was increased and the power generation efficiency was improved because the interface defects were reduced as compared with the conventional one (see Table 4).

Further, a p-type, i-type, and n-type amorphous silicon layer are laminated on the p-type microcrystalline silicon layer or the n-type microcrystalline silicon layer, and a pin-structured microcrystalline silicon layer and a pin structure are formed. A tandem solar cell in which an amorphous silicon layer having a structure is connected in series can also be used. In such a tandem solar cell, it is desirable to dispose the amorphous silicon layer on the light incident side and the microcrystalline silicon layer on the back electrode side.

[0014]

Various preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Example 1 A solar cell of Example 1 will be described with reference to FIG.

The solar cell 10 includes a transparent electrode film 12, a p-type microcrystalline silicon layer (hereinafter referred to as microcrystalline p layer) 13, and a p-type amorphous silicon layer (hereinafter referred to as amorphous p layer) on a glass substrate 11. ) 14, i-type amorphous silicon layer (hereinafter referred to as amorphous i layer) 15, i-type microcrystalline silicon layer (hereinafter referred to as microcrystalline i layer) 16, n-type microcrystalline silicon layer (hereinafter referred to as microcrystalline n layer) 17) and the back electrode film 18 are laminated in this order.

The lower transparent electrode film 12b is made of transparent zinc oxide (ZnO) and is directly stacked on the glass substrate 11. The transparent electrode film 12b has a function of preventing the upper transparent electrode film 12a from being oxidized when the microcrystalline p layer 13 is formed. Upper transparent electrode film 12a
Is made of tin oxide (SnO ₂ ) and is connected to a negative electrode of an external load (not shown).

The layers 13 to 17 are portions corresponding to a pin structure having a power generation function. Among them, the microcrystalline p layer 13 is a p-type microcrystalline silicon film (μc-p) doped with boron (B).
-Si) and has a film thickness of 0 to 30 nm.

The film thickness of the amorphous silicon layer is preferably in the range of 5 to 30 nm. This is because if the film thickness is less than 5 nm, there is no effect, and if the film thickness exceeds 30 nm, the short-circuit current decreases and the power generation efficiency decreases. In this embodiment, first, the amorphous p-layer 14 having a film thickness of 20 nm is formed into the microcrystalline p-layer 1.
3 was laminated and formed, and the surface thereof was exposed to hydrogen gas plasma for etching, and the film thickness of the amorphous p layer 14 was finally set to 10 nm.

The microcrystalline i layer 16 is made of a microcrystalline silicon film (μc-Si) not doped with impurities and has a film thickness of 100.
It is 0 to 5000 nm.

The microcrystalline n layer 17 is composed of an n-type microcrystalline silicon film (μc-n-Si) doped with phosphorus (P) and has a film thickness of 10 to 80 nm.

The back electrode film 18 is made of aluminum (Al).
And is connected to an external load and totally reflects the light incident from the glass substrate 11 side.

(Manufacturing Method) Next, a method of manufacturing the solar cell of Example 1 will be described with reference to FIG.

The solar cell 10 of this example was manufactured by the following steps (1) to (14) using the plasma CVD apparatus shown in FIG.

(1) As the transparent insulating substrate 11, colorless and transparent soda-lime glass (normal plate glass) whose surface was strengthened by heat treatment after die cutting was used. This glass substrate 11
A tin oxide (SnO ₂ ) layer 12b and a zinc oxide (ZnO ₂
The transparent electrode 12 including the O) layer 12a was formed. Here, the ZnO layer 12a was formed in order to prevent the SnO ₂ layer 12b from being reduced during the film formation of the microcrystalline p layer 13 ((a) of FIG. 3).

(2) Next, the substrate 11 was set on the anode 2 of the PCVD apparatus, and then the chamber 1 was evacuated by a vacuum pump until the internal pressure of the reaction vessel 1 became 5 × 10 ⁻⁷ Torr. Anode 2
Then, the substrate 11 was heated to, for example, 170 ° C. to sufficiently stabilize the temperature. The heating temperature of the substrate 11 is not limited to 170 ° C., but can be variously changed within the range of 100 to 300 ° C. according to the design conditions of the solar cell.

(3) Next, silane (SiH ₄ ), hydrogen (H ₂ ) and diborane (B ₂ H ₆ ) were introduced into the reaction vessel 1 as reaction gases for forming the microcrystalline p layer 13. Gas flow rate is S
_{iH 4: 3~5sccm, H 2:} 300~500sccm, B
₂ H _6: it was 0.005~0.020sccm. Here, in order to obtain the microcrystalline p layer 13 having excellent crystallinity, the flow rate of B ₂ H ₆ needs to be 0.02 sccm or less. The reaction gas may be introduced into the reaction container separately for each component, or may be mixed in advance outside the reaction container and then introduced into the reaction container all at once.

(4) After introducing the raw material gas, the internal pressure of the reaction vessel 1 was controlled to 0.5 Torr by a pressure control device (not shown).
Here, the control pressure in the reaction vessel 1 is not limited to 0.5 Torr, but can be set to 0.
Various changes can be made within the range of 2 to 2.0 Torr. After sufficiently stabilizing the temperature and pressure in the reaction vessel 1,
Plasma was generated by supplying high-frequency power of 50 W with a frequency of 100 MHz to the cathode from the high-frequency power source 6 through the impedance matching device 5, and the microcrystalline p layer 13 was formed ((b) of FIG. 3).

(5) Here, the frequency of the high frequency power source 6 is 10
The frequency is not limited to 0 MHz, and the same effect as that of this embodiment can be obtained if the frequency is 60 MHz or higher.
However, when the frequency is less than 60 MHz, there is a problem that the film forming conditions for microcrystallization become extremely narrow,
The frequency is preferably 60 MHz or higher. Subsequently, in this state, a film was formed for a predetermined time so that the film thickness of the microcrystalline p layer 13 was 20 nm.

(6) Next, the reaction gas supply is stopped and the reaction
After the inside of the container 1 is evacuated, the amorphous p layer 14
Silane (SiH) is used as a reaction gas for film formation._Four),hydrogen
(H₂) And diborane (B₂H₆) Into the reaction vessel
It was Here, the gas flow rate is SiH _Four: 3-5 sccm,
H₂: 30 to 50 sccm, B₂H₆: 0.03-0.10scc
It was m. In addition, the reaction gas has a different reaction volume for each component.
It may be introduced into the reactor or may be mixed in advance outside the reaction vessel.
It may be introduced at once in the reaction vessel.

(7) Next, after introducing the raw material gas, the pressure inside the reaction vessel is adjusted to 0.15 Ton by a pressure control device (not shown).
Controlled to rr. Here, the pressure in the reaction vessel is 0.15 To
It is not limited to only rr, but can be variously changed within the range of 0.1 to 1.0 Torr according to the design conditions of the solar cell. After sufficiently stabilizing the temperature and pressure in the reaction container, high frequency power of 6 W is supplied to the cathode 3 from the high frequency power source 6 through the impedance matching device 5 to generate plasma, and the amorphous p layer 14 is formed. Was formed into a film.

(8) Here, the frequency of the high frequency power source 6 is 10
The frequency is not limited to 0 MHz, and the same effect as that of the present embodiment can be obtained if the frequency is 60 MHz or higher. Subsequently, in this state, the amorphous p-layer 14 was formed for a predetermined time so that the film thickness was 20 nm.

(9) Next, the supply of the reaction gas is stopped, the inside of the reaction vessel is once evacuated, and then H ₂ : 100 to 3 as an etching gas for the amorphous p layer 14 in the reaction vessel.
The pressure in the reaction vessel was controlled to 0.5 Torr by introducing 00 sccm. Here, the pressure in the reaction container is not limited to 0.5 Torr, and the same effect as that of this embodiment can be obtained in the range of 0.2 to 1.0 Torr. After sufficiently stabilizing the temperature and pressure in the reaction vessel, the high frequency power source 6 through the impedance matching device 5 to the cathode at a frequency of 100 MHz,
Hydrogen gas plasma 9 is generated by supplying high-frequency power of 75 W, and the active species in this hydrogen gas plasma 9 are caused to act on the amorphous p layer 14 to form the amorphous p layer 1.
The surface of No. 4 was etched ((c) of FIG. 3).

(10) Here, the etching treatment time is 1 nm on the substrate after etching the amorphous p layer 14 by 10 nm.
The treatment was carried out by setting so as to leave 0 nm.

(11) Next, after the supply of the etching gas is stopped and the inside of the reaction vessel is evacuated to a vacuum, silane (SiH ₄ ) and hydrogen (H ₂ ) are fed into the reaction vessel as source gases for the amorphous i layer. Then, the amorphous i layer 15 having a film thickness of 20 nm was formed in the same manner as the amorphous p layer ((d) of FIG. 3).

(12) Next, the supply of the raw material gas is stopped, the inside of the reaction vessel is once evacuated, and then silane (SiH ₄ ) and hydrogen (H ₂ ) are used as the raw material gas for the microcrystalline i layer in the reaction vessel. And a film thickness of 1500 is obtained in the same manner as the microcrystalline p layer.
The microcrystalline i layer 16 of nm was formed ((e) of FIG. 3).

(13) After that, the supply of the raw material gas is stopped, the inside of the reaction vessel is evacuated, and then SiH ₄ , H ₂ and phosphine (PH ₃ ) are introduced as the raw material gas for the microcrystalline n layer.
A microcrystalline n layer 17 having a film thickness of 40 nm was formed in the same manner as the microcrystalline p layer ((f) in FIG. 3).

(14) Finally, aluminum (Al) was vacuum-deposited on the microcrystalline n layer 17 to form the back electrode 18 having a thickness of 0.1 μm ((g) in FIG. 3). As a result, a microcrystalline silicon solar cell 10 as a product was obtained.

(Evaluation Method) In the solar cell of Example 1 above,
Simulated sunlight (spectrum: AM1.5, irradiation intensity: 100m
W / cm ² , irradiation temperature: room temperature) was irradiated to evaluate the power generation characteristics. The evaluation results are shown in Table 1 and Comparative Example 1
Microcrystal p layer (30 nm) / microcrystal i layer (1500 n)
m) / microcrystalline n layer (40 nm); (the film forming conditions are the same as in Example 1), the solar cell of Example 1 has improved electrical characteristics (open circuit voltage), and the power generation efficiency is significantly increased. did.

In order to investigate the factors for improving the efficiency, the defect density distribution in the film thickness direction was evaluated by the electron spin resonance method (ESR). In Example 1, as compared with Comparative Example 1, the defect density in the vicinity of the interface was less than 1/10, and it can be said that suppression of recombination of electrons and holes led to improvement in efficiency. It is presumed that the reduction of the defect density was due to the fact that amorphous having a small defect density was adopted near the interface because there were no grain boundaries and that the interface was activated by hydrogen plasma to suppress the defects at the interface.

Example 2 A solar cell of Example 2 having a different layer structure was prepared in the same manner as in Example 1 except for the thickness, and the power generation efficiency was evaluated. The results are shown in Table 2.

In order to confirm the effect of only the hydrogen plasma treatment, hydrogen plasma etching is carried out after forming the microcrystalline p layer.
As a result of producing a solar cell by forming a microcrystalline i layer / n layer,
The power generation efficiency of Example 2 was higher than that of Comparative Example 1. It is presumed that this is because the surface of the p-layer (interface with the i-layer) was made amorphous by the hydrogen plasma treatment and defects were reduced.

In order to confirm the effect of the insertion of the amorphous layer at the p / i interface, a plurality of samples of Examples 3-1 to 5 were prepared. It was confirmed that the power generation efficiency was increased by inserting the layers. This is p / because the amorphous layer has low defects.
It is presumed that defects near the i interface were reduced.

As a result of evaluating the power generation efficiency of Example 4 in which the entire p layer was amorphous, it was higher than that of Comparative Example 1.

The present invention can be applied not only to a solar cell having a pin single structure but also to a solar cell having a structure in which amorphous cells and microcrystalline cells are laminated.

(Third Embodiment) The solar cell 10A of the third embodiment has a power generation layer of nip structure, and the present invention can be applied based on the same idea as in the first and second embodiments.

First, a nip structure solar cell of a comparative example will be described with reference to FIG. The nip structure solar cell of the comparative example is manufactured as follows. After depositing the metallic back surface electrode 18 on the substrate 11, the transparent electrode 12 made of a ZnO layer is formed.
To form. The ZnO layer 12 is formed to suppress the reaction between the metal and the upper Si layer. A microcrystalline n layer 17 (40
nm), the microcrystalline i layer 16 (1500 nm), and the microcrystalline p layer 13 (30 nm) were formed under the same conditions as the solar cells of Examples 1 and 2 above. An ITO transparent electrode 20 and a comb-shaped metal electrode 21 were vapor-deposited on the surface thereof to obtain a nip structure solar cell of a comparative example.

Next, the solar cell of Example 3 will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5.

A back electrode 18 made of aluminum was vapor-deposited on the substrate 11 ((a) of FIG. 5). The transparent electrode 12 made of a ZnO layer was formed on the back surface electrode 18 by using the PCVD apparatus of FIG. 2 ((b) of FIG. 5). This ZnO layer 12 functions as a buffer layer for suppressing the reaction between the metal and the upper Si layer.

SiH ₄ , H ₂ and phosphine (PH ₃ ) were introduced as source gases, and a film thickness of 40 was formed on the transparent electrode 12.
A microcrystalline n layer 17 having a thickness of nm was formed ((c) in FIG. 5). Next, a microcrystal i layer 16 having a film thickness of 1500 nm was formed on the microcrystal n layer 17 ((d) of FIG. 5). Further, an amorphous i-layer 15 having a film thickness of 30 nm was formed on the microcrystalline i-layer 16 ((e) in FIG. 5). These film forming conditions were substantially the same as those of the solar cells of Examples 1 and 2 above.

Next, after the supply of the reaction gas is stopped and the inside of the reaction vessel is evacuated once, H ₂ : 100 to 300 s is used as an etching gas for the amorphous i layer 15 in the reaction vessel.
The pressure in the reaction vessel was controlled to 0.5 Torr by introducing ccm. Here, the pressure in the reaction container is not limited to 0.5 Torr, and the same effect as that of this embodiment can be obtained in the range of 0.2 to 1.0 Torr. After the temperature and pressure in the reaction vessel are sufficiently stabilized, the high frequency power source 6 passes through the impedance matching device 5 to the cathode at a frequency of 100 MHz, 75
Hydrogen gas plasma 9 is generated by supplying high-frequency power of W, and active species in the hydrogen gas plasma 9 are caused to act on the amorphous i layer 15 to etch the surface of the amorphous i layer 15 ((e in FIG. 5). )).

Here, the etching treatment time is 20 nm on the substrate after etching the amorphous i layer 15 by 10 nm.
m was set and treated so that it remained.

Next, after the supply of the etching gas is stopped and the inside of the reaction vessel is evacuated to a vacuum, silane (SiH ₄ ), hydrogen (H ₂ ) and diborane (as source gas for the amorphous p layer 14) are supplied into the reaction vessel. B ₂ H ₆ ) was introduced, and an amorphous p layer 14 having a film thickness of 20 nm was formed in the same manner as the amorphous i layer 15 ((f) in FIG. 5).

Next, the supply of the source gas is stopped, the inside of the reaction vessel is evacuated once, and then silane (SiH ₄ ), hydrogen (H ₂ ) and diborane ( B ₂ H ₆ ) was introduced to form a microcrystalline p layer 13 having a film thickness of 1500 nm under the same conditions as the microcrystalline i layer ((g) in FIG. 5).

After that, the supply of the raw material gas is stopped, the inside of the reaction vessel is evacuated, and then the ITO transparent electrode 20 is formed on the surface thereof.
And a comb-shaped metal electrode 21 were vapor-deposited ((h) of FIG. 5,
(I)). Thus, the solar cell 10A of Example 3 was obtained.

Also in the nip structure of this embodiment, after the microcrystalline i layer is formed, the amorphous i layer is formed and the amorphous i layer is formed.
With respect to layer etching, amorphous p-layer film formation, and microcrystalline p-layer film formation, a solar cell in which the layer structure was changed was prototyped and evaluated. The evaluation results are shown in Table 3. As is clear from this table, even in the nip structure, an increase in efficiency was recognized by providing an amorphous layer at the i / p interface and performing hydrogen plasma etching treatment at the i / p interface.

Further, as shown in Table 4, the open circuit voltage Voc increased to 0.52V, 0.51V and 0.49V, respectively. As a result, the power generation efficiency Eff is as shown in each of Examples 3-1 to 3-3.
At -9, it improved to 7.8%, 6.8% and 7.0%, respectively.

In the above embodiment, microcrystalline silicon pi is used.
Although the case of the n-structure solar cell has been described, the present invention is not limited to this, and the present invention is also applied to a solar cell in which a part of the p layer is replaced with microcrystalline silicon carbide (SiC). It is possible.

Further, in the above-mentioned embodiment, although the single solar cell of microcrystalline silicon was verified, the microcrystalline silicon solar cell was combined with the amorphous silicon solar cell,
The present invention can be applied to a tandem solar cell.

[0060]

[Table 1]

[0061]

[Table 2]

[0062]

[Table 3]

[0063]

[Table 4]

[0064]

According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a microcrystalline silicon solar cell which can raise the open circuit voltage to a sufficient level and has high power generation efficiency, and a method for manufacturing the same.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic sectional view showing a microcrystalline silicon solar cell according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an internal perspective sectional view schematically showing a plasma CVD apparatus.

3A to 3G are flowcharts showing a method for manufacturing a microcrystalline silicon solar cell according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a schematic sectional view showing a microcrystalline silicon solar cell according to another embodiment of the present invention.

5 (a) to (i) are flowcharts showing a method for manufacturing a microcrystalline silicon solar cell according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a schematic sectional view showing a solar cell of a comparative example.

FIG. 7 is a schematic sectional view showing a solar cell of another comparative example.

[Explanation of symbols]

9 ... Hydrogen plasma, 10, 10A ... Solar cell, 11 ... Glass substrate, 12, 12a, 12b ... Transparent electrodes, 13 ... Microcrystalline p layer (μc-p-Si), 14 ... Amorphous p layer (a-p-Si), 15 ... Amorphous i layer (a-i-Si), 16 ... Microcrystalline i layer (μc-i-Si), 17 ... Microcrystalline n layer (μc-n-Si), 18 ... Back electrode (Al), 19 ... p / i interface (hydrogen plasma treated surface), 20 ... Transparent electrode, 21 ... Comb-shaped collector electrode.

   ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued front page    (72) Inventor Yoshimichi Yonekura             1-8 Koura, Kanazawa-ku, Yokohama-shi, Kanagawa               Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. Basic Technology Research Center F-term (reference) 5F051 AA04 CA03 CA15 CA35 CA37                       DA04 FA03 FA15 GA03

Claims (10)

[Claims] 1. A transparent electrode, p on a transparent insulating substrate.
In a microcrystalline silicon solar cell in which a p-type, i-type, n-type microcrystalline silicon layer and a back surface metal electrode are stacked, p / i between the p-type microcrystalline silicon layer and the i-type microcrystalline silicon layer is provided. A microcrystalline silicon solar cell having an amorphous silicon layer at the interface and its vicinity. 2. A part of the p-type microcrystalline silicon layer is made amorphous by exposing the surface of the p-type microcrystalline silicon layer before laminating the i-type microcrystalline silicon layer to hydrogen gas plasma. The microcrystalline silicon solar cell according to claim 1, which is qualitative. 3. A part of the i-type microcrystalline silicon layer is amorphous by exposing the surface of the i-type microcrystalline silicon layer before the p-type microcrystalline silicon layer is laminated to hydrogen gas plasma. The microcrystalline silicon solar cell according to claim 1, wherein the microcrystalline silicon solar cell is characterized by: 4. The amorphous silicon layer having a thickness of 5 to 30 nm is inserted between the p-type microcrystalline silicon layer and the i-type microcrystalline silicon layer. Microcrystalline silicon solar cell. 5. A transparent electrode, a transparent electrode, and a transparent electrode on a transparent insulating substrate.
In a method of manufacturing a microcrystalline silicon solar cell in which an i-type, i-type, n-type microcrystalline silicon layer and a back surface metal electrode are laminated and formed, the p-type microcrystalline silicon layer before the i-type microcrystalline silicon layer is laminated The surface or the surface of the i-type microcrystalline silicon layer before laminating the p-type microcrystalline silicon layer is exposed to hydrogen gas plasma, and the active species in the hydrogen gas plasma are caused to act on the p-type or i-type plasma. The surface of the type microcrystalline silicon layer is etched, and the i-type or p-type microcrystalline silicon layer is laminated on the etched surface to form an amorphized active p / i interface. And a method for manufacturing a microcrystalline silicon solar cell. 6. The method according to claim 5, wherein after the surface of the p-type microcrystalline silicon layer is etched by hydrogen gas plasma, the i-type microcrystalline silicon layer is laminated on the etched surface. 7. The method according to claim 5, wherein the surface of the i-type microcrystalline silicon layer is etched by hydrogen gas plasma, and then the p-type microcrystalline silicon layer is laminated on the etched surface. 8. The amorphous silicon thin film layer having a thickness of 5 to 30 nm is inserted between the p-type microcrystalline silicon layer and the i-type microcrystalline silicon layer. the method of. 9. A tandem type is formed by further stacking a p-type, i-type, and n-type amorphous silicon layer on the p-type microcrystalline silicon layer or the n-type microcrystalline silicon layer. The solar cell according to claim 1. 10. A tandem type is formed by further stacking a p-type, i-type, and n-type amorphous silicon layer on the p-type microcrystalline silicon layer or the n-type microcrystalline silicon layer. The method for manufacturing a solar cell according to claim 5.