The change in the interface-state Fermi level of M.I.S. solar cells when going from dark to illuminated conditions

Current/voltage characteristics obtained under dark and illuminated conditions have been examined for Al-p-Si M.I.S. solar cells. The results show that the voltage drop across the oxide is changed, owing to the increased surface concentration of minority carriers when going from dark to illuminated conditions. The inverse slopes nof the linear region have been measured and the interface-state densities NSS have been calculated. From the voltage changes and interface state densities obtained, the changes in the interface-state Fermi levels have been calculated to be about 0.05–0.1 eV for short-circuit currents of 25–30 mA cm−2