Comparison of batch and in‐line PECVD of a‐Si:H passivation layers for silicon heterojunction solar cells

Abstract

We present PECVD deposition of i‐a‐Si:H in an in‐line configuration for the fabrication of silicon heterojunction solar cells. For industry, in‐line processing has the potential to increase production throughput and yield. We compared batch and in‐line fabrication of i‐a‐Si:H passivation samples with identical plasma conditions and observed that the a‐Si:H material properties do not significantly differ. In batch‐type production the substrate is in the plasma zone at the moment of ignition, whereas for in‐line deposition the substrate is introduced into the plasma zone when steady plasma conditions have been reached. Our preliminary results show that there are depositions conditions that result both for in‐line and batch‐type deposition in good i‐a‐Si:H passivation layers. Therefore both methods can equally well be considered for the production of silicon heterojunction solar cells. (© 2016 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH &Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

Investigation of Field‐Effect Passivation Created by Hydrogen Plasma Etching of Radio Corporation of America Formed Chemical Oxides on Crystalline Silicon Wafers

“…The formidable efficiency is mainly attributed to the high open-circuit voltage (V oc ) of around 750 mV made possible by the passivation effect of ultra-thin hydrogenated intrinsic amorphous silicon [a-Si:H(i)] layers on wafer surfaces that saturate most of the dangling bonds and greatly reduce the surface carrier recombination. [3][4][5][6] On the other hand, ultra-clean wafer surface and atomically abrupt interface between passivation layers and the substrate are a prerequisite for realizing excellent chemical passivation and the best cell performance. [7] Therefore, silicon wafer surface cleaning constitutes one of the key steps in HIT fabrication.…”

Inline PECVD Deposition of Poly‐Si‐Based Tunnel Oxide Passivating Contacts

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