On the stability of MIS solar cells

To achieve good photocurent response in Al/SiO
x
/pSi MIS solar cells it is necessary to keep the Al barrier metal thickness to ≈ 50 Å. It is demonstrated that such solar cells are unstable, principally in V
oc
. The reduction in V
oc
is shown to be induced by photons of wavelength ≤ 4500 Å. MIS cell stability can be improved, at the expense of efficiency, by thickening the barrier metal to 100 Å.