US Patent 7352044 Photoelectric transducer, photoelectric transducer apparatus, and iron silicide film

A solar battery 10 comprises a metal electrode layer 12, a pin junction 100, and a transparent electrode layer 16 which are successively laminated on a substrate 11 such as a silicon substrate. The pin junction 100 comprises an n-layer 13, an i-layer 14, and a p-layer 15 which are laminated in succession. The i-layer 14 is formed by amorphous iron silicide (FexSiy:H) containing hydrogen atoms. In the i-layer 14, at least a part of the hydrogen atoms contained therein terminate dangling bonds of silicon atoms and/or iron atoms, so that a number of trap levels which may occur in an amorphous iron silicide film can be eliminated, whereby the i-layer 14 exhibits a characteristic as an intrinsic semiconductor layer.