Compensated amorphous silicon solar cell

In a hydrogenated amorphous silicon solar cell which comprises an electrically conductive substrate, a layer of hydrogenated amorphous silicon having regions of differing conductivity with at least one region of photoactive intrinsic hydrogenated amorphous silicon, said layer of hydrogenated amorphous silicon having opposed first and second major surfaces where said first major surface contacts said electrically conductive substrate, and means for electrically contacting said second major surface, the improvement wherein the photoactive intrinsic hydrogenated amorphous silicon region is compensated with suitable N-type and P-type dopants to reduce the bandgap energy of the material to less than about 1.6 eV, said doping concentration adjusted such that the recombination lifetime of the photoactive intrinsic region is greater than the transit time for the holes and electrons generated in said photoactive intrinsic region out of said region during illumination of the solar cell.