Thin-film photoelectric conversion device and method for manufacturing same

A method of manufacturing a thin-film photoelectric conversion device comprising:

• forming on one main surface of a substrate a transparent electroconductive film having zinc oxide as a main component;
• forming an intrinsic crystalline silicon semiconductor layer and a p-type crystalline semiconductor layer in this order on the transparent electroconductive film to form a contact layer;
• forming a p-type semiconductor layer, an i-type semiconductor layer and an n-type semiconductor layer in this order on the contact layer to form a photoelectric conversion unit;
• and
• forming a back electrode layer, wherein
• the p-type semiconductor layer of the photoelectric conversion unit and the p-type crystalline semiconductor layer of the contact layer are separate layers,
• the intrinsic crystalline silicon semiconductor layer of the contact layer and the transparent electroconductive film are in contact with each other,
• the p-type crystalline semiconductor layer of the contact layer is a layer having as a main component a silicon alloy selected from the group consisting of a silicon oxide;
• a silicon nitride;
• silicon carbide;
• and silicon germanium, and
• the intrinsic crystalline silicon semiconductor layer and the p-type crystalline semiconductor layer of the contact layer are formed by a plasma-enhanced CVD method.