The aim of this paper is to develop a physically based model that represents accurately the relation between thermally induced strain and the diffusion coefficient of boron dopant during the fabrication of a thin film silicon solar cell.  We used this model to investigate quantitatively and qualitatively the impact of thermally induced strain on the energy barrier and the diffusion behavior of the boron dopant. This investigation is original. In our previous work, we have developed an accurate model to include the effects of dopants induced strain on the diffusion of boron. In this paper, we are proposing an original model that combines both the effects of dopants induced strain and the effects of thermally induced strain on the diffusion of boron.  The optimization of the performance of the solar cells is based on the optimization of their fabrication processes as diffusion of dopants. We have also developed and validated a model that represents the temperature dependence of the thermal expansion coefficient of silicon.  We used this model to calculate accurately the thermal induced strain during diffusion. The models and the numerical results will help optimize the diffusion parameters and the efficiency of thin film silicon solar cells.  We have validated the proposed model of thermal expansion coefficient of silicon with different measurements found in literature. The proposed model for the diffusion coefficient of boron is qualitatively in good agreement with the published literature. The numerical results obtained show that the diffusion coefficient of boron is enhanced by 31%.

Keywords

Thermal expansion coefficient, Thermal induced strain, Diffusion coefficient of boron,Thin film solar cells.