The Effect of Gamma Irradiation on the Electrophysical Parameters of Nickel-Doped Silicon Solar Cells

The results of the studies of changes in the electro-physical parameters (V_oc, open circuit voltage; I_sc, short-circuit current density; τ, lifetime of nonequilibrium charge carriers) of photocells made on plates of monocrystalline silicon of the p-type conductivity with the specific resistance ρ 0.5 Ohm cm, doped with nickel, under irradiation with γ-quanta from ⁶⁰Co source are presented. It is shown that the efficiency of the solar energy conversion in nickel-doped photovoltaic cells remains higher than in standard cells up to irradiation doses of 10⁸ rad. It was established that radiation stability of electrophysical parameters of photovoltaic cells also increases with increasing diffusion temperature of nickel atoms. A decrease in the concentration of recombination-active radiation defects is due to the gettering by nickel atoms of technological (background) impurities and the action of nickel clusters as effluents for radiation-induced vacancies.