Development of n-Type, Passivating Nanocrystalline Silicon Oxide Films via Plasma-Enhanced Chemical Vapor Deposition
Nanocrystalline silicon oxide (nc-SiOx:H) is a multipurpose material with varied applications in solar cells as a transparent front contact, intermediate reflector, back reflector layer, and even tunnel layer for passivating contacts, owing to the easy tailoring of its optical properties. In this wo...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2024-03-01
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| Series: | Solar |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2673-9941/4/1/7 |
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| author | Gurleen Kaur Antonio J. Olivares Pere Roca i Cabarrocas |
| author_facet | Gurleen Kaur Antonio J. Olivares Pere Roca i Cabarrocas |
| author_sort | Gurleen Kaur |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Nanocrystalline silicon oxide (nc-SiOx:H) is a multipurpose material with varied applications in solar cells as a transparent front contact, intermediate reflector, back reflector layer, and even tunnel layer for passivating contacts, owing to the easy tailoring of its optical properties. In this work, we systematically investigate the influence of the gas mixture (SiH<sub>4</sub>, CO<sub>2</sub>, PH<sub>3</sub>, and H<sub>2</sub>), RF power, and process pressure on the optical, structural, and passivation properties of thin n-type nc-SiOx:H films prepared in an industrial, high-throughput, plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) reactor. We provide a detailed description of the n-type nc-SiOx:H material development using various structural and optical characterization techniques (scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray (EDX), Raman spectroscopy, and spectroscopic ellipsometry) with a focus on the relationship between the material properties and the passivation they provide to n-type c-Si wafers characterized by their effective carrier lifetime (τ<sub>eff</sub>). Furthermore, we also outline the parameters to be kept in mind while developing different n-type nc-SiOx:H layers for different solar cell applications. We report a tunable optical gap (1.8–2.3 eV) for our n-type nc-SiOx:H films as well as excellent passivation properties with a τ<sub>eff</sub> of up to 4.1 ms (implied open-circuit voltage (iV<sub>oc</sub>)~715 mV) before annealing. Oxygen content plays an important role in determining the crystallinity and hence passivation quality of the deposited nanocrystalline silicon oxide films. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-24T17:49:59Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-e37f4f37af184c2ca6c582e52b1ee0c8 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2673-9941 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-24T17:49:59Z |
| publishDate | 2024-03-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Solar |
| spelling | doaj.art-e37f4f37af184c2ca6c582e52b1ee0c82024-03-27T14:04:55ZengMDPI AGSolar2673-99412024-03-014116217810.3390/solar4010007Development of n-Type, Passivating Nanocrystalline Silicon Oxide Films via Plasma-Enhanced Chemical Vapor DepositionGurleen Kaur0Antonio J. Olivares1Pere Roca i Cabarrocas2Institut Photovoltaïque d’Ile-de-France (IPVF), 18 Bvd Thomas Gobert, 91120 Palaiseau, FranceLaboratoire de Physique des Interfaces et Couches Minces (LPICM), Ecole Polytechnique, Institut Polytechnique de Paris, Route de Saclay, 91128 Palaiseau, FranceInstitut Photovoltaïque d’Ile-de-France (IPVF), 18 Bvd Thomas Gobert, 91120 Palaiseau, FranceNanocrystalline silicon oxide (nc-SiOx:H) is a multipurpose material with varied applications in solar cells as a transparent front contact, intermediate reflector, back reflector layer, and even tunnel layer for passivating contacts, owing to the easy tailoring of its optical properties. In this work, we systematically investigate the influence of the gas mixture (SiH<sub>4</sub>, CO<sub>2</sub>, PH<sub>3</sub>, and H<sub>2</sub>), RF power, and process pressure on the optical, structural, and passivation properties of thin n-type nc-SiOx:H films prepared in an industrial, high-throughput, plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) reactor. We provide a detailed description of the n-type nc-SiOx:H material development using various structural and optical characterization techniques (scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray (EDX), Raman spectroscopy, and spectroscopic ellipsometry) with a focus on the relationship between the material properties and the passivation they provide to n-type c-Si wafers characterized by their effective carrier lifetime (τ<sub>eff</sub>). Furthermore, we also outline the parameters to be kept in mind while developing different n-type nc-SiOx:H layers for different solar cell applications. We report a tunable optical gap (1.8–2.3 eV) for our n-type nc-SiOx:H films as well as excellent passivation properties with a τ<sub>eff</sub> of up to 4.1 ms (implied open-circuit voltage (iV<sub>oc</sub>)~715 mV) before annealing. Oxygen content plays an important role in determining the crystallinity and hence passivation quality of the deposited nanocrystalline silicon oxide films.https://www.mdpi.com/2673-9941/4/1/7nanocrystalline silicon oxidenc-SiOx:Hn-typesurface passivationamorphous siliconPECVD |
| spellingShingle | Gurleen Kaur Antonio J. Olivares Pere Roca i Cabarrocas Development of n-Type, Passivating Nanocrystalline Silicon Oxide Films via Plasma-Enhanced Chemical Vapor Deposition Solar nanocrystalline silicon oxide nc-SiOx:H n-type surface passivation amorphous silicon PECVD |
| title | Development of n-Type, Passivating Nanocrystalline Silicon Oxide Films via Plasma-Enhanced Chemical Vapor Deposition |
| title_full | Development of n-Type, Passivating Nanocrystalline Silicon Oxide Films via Plasma-Enhanced Chemical Vapor Deposition |
| title_fullStr | Development of n-Type, Passivating Nanocrystalline Silicon Oxide Films via Plasma-Enhanced Chemical Vapor Deposition |
| title_full_unstemmed | Development of n-Type, Passivating Nanocrystalline Silicon Oxide Films via Plasma-Enhanced Chemical Vapor Deposition |
| title_short | Development of n-Type, Passivating Nanocrystalline Silicon Oxide Films via Plasma-Enhanced Chemical Vapor Deposition |
| title_sort | development of n type passivating nanocrystalline silicon oxide films via plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition |
| topic | nanocrystalline silicon oxide nc-SiOx:H n-type surface passivation amorphous silicon PECVD |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2673-9941/4/1/7 |
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