Are the Current Models Helpful to Understanding Staebler-Wronski Degradation?

Abstract

ABSTRACTThis contribution reviews the compatibility of Staebler-Wronski models with experimental data and observations. The review will show that neither the “bond-breaking models” (originally proposed by Dersch and Stutzmann) nor the “defect conversion” models (originally proposed by Adler) can explain all observations on films and/or solar cells. It has been well accepted for some time that experimental stress and recovery phenomena, both on films and devices, always identify both “slow” and “fast” degradation and recovery mechanisms. It is argued that the quintessential understanding of the Staebler-Wronski mechanisms will come from identifying a fundamental physical process that provides a quantitative understanding of the “coupling” between the slow and fast mechanisms.