Patent ID: 7960646

Claim:
A silicon-based thin-film photoelectric converter comprising: a transparent substrate; a substantially i-type photoelectric conversion layer of hydrogenated amorphous silicon or a hydrogenated amorphous silicon alloy; a substantially i-type buffer layer mainly made of hydrogenated amorphous silicon; and an n-type Si 1-x O x layer (x is 0.25-0.6) stacked successively, wherein the buffer layer has a higher hydrogen concentration at its interface with and as compared with said photoelectric conversion layer, has a lower hydrogen concentration at its interface with said n-type Si 1-x O x layer, as compared to said photoelectric conversion layer, and has a thickness of at least 5 nm and at most 50 nm, wherein the transparent substrate is on a light incident side of the photoelectric conversion layer, wherein the substantially i-type photoelectric conversion layer, the substantially i-type buffer layer, and the n-type Si 1-x O x layer are stacked successively from the light incident side (transparent substrate side), wherein said buffer layer has a hydrogen concentration of at least 1×10 22 atoms/cc measured by SIMS at its interface with said photoelectric conversion layer.