Electron-hole recombination at the Si-SiO2 interface

Yablonovitch, Eli; Swanson, R.M.; Eades, W. D.; Weinberger, B. R.

doi:10.1063/1.96570

Cited by 57 publications

(34 citation statements)

References 8 publications

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“…This can be achieved by creating either accumulation or strong inversion conditions at the surface. Further examination of the SRH equation shows that, for defects with energy levels that are not close to the band edges and with a capture cross section ratio R = σ n /σ p , the peak in recombination will occur when the carrier concentration at the surface is p S /n S = R, where p S and n S are the surface hole and electron concentrations, respectively [4]. For approximately equal capture cross sections, the peak will occur when p S ≈ n S , that is, when the surface is in depletion.…”

Section: Impact Of Charge On Surface Recombinationmentioning

confidence: 99%

PECVD Silicon Nitride Passivation on Boron Emitter: The Analysis of Electrostatic Charge on the Interface Properties

Nursam

Ren

Weber

2010

Advances in OptoElectronics

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The dependence of surface recombination of boron diffused and undiffused silicon surfaces passivated with a-SiN x :H on the net charge density is investigated in detail. The films are deposited by plasma-enhanced chemical vapour deposition using a 2.45 GHz microwave remote plasma system. The surface charge density on the samples is varied by depositing charge using a corona discharge chamber. Excess carrier lifetime, capacitance-voltage, and Kelvin probe measurements are combined to determine the surface recombination velocity and emitter saturation current density as a function of net charge density. Our results show that the application of negative charge causes a substantial reduction in the surface recombination of samples with boron diffused emitters, even for high boron surface concentrations of 5×10 19 cm −3 . The significant difference observed in surface recombination between boron diffused and undiffused sample under accumulation implies that the presence of boron diffusion has results in some degradation of the Si-SiN x interface. Further, (111) oriented surfaces appear more sensitive to the boron surface concentration than (100) oriented surfaces.

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Section: Impact Of Charge On Surface Recombinationmentioning

confidence: 99%

PECVD Silicon Nitride Passivation on Boron Emitter: The Analysis of Electrostatic Charge on the Interface Properties

Nursam

Ren

Weber

2010

Advances in OptoElectronics

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“…6 Surface recombination velocity measurements were performed using a contactless rf conductivity apparatus. 5,[17][18][19][20] In this system, the output from a signal generator operating at 450 MHz was connected to a power splitter. One output from the power splitter was connected through an amplifier and a phase shifter to the local oscillator input of a doublebalanced frequency mixer, and the other output from the power splitter was connected through an amplifier to the coupled port of a directional coupler.…”

Section: ͓S0003-6951͑00͒01739-3͔mentioning

confidence: 99%

Preparation of air-stable, low recombination velocity Si(111) surfaces through alkyl termination

Royea

Juang

Lewis

2000

Applied Physics Letters

206

315

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A two-step, chlorination/alkylation procedure has been used to convert the surface Si-H bonds on NH 4 F ͑aq͒ -etched ͑111͒-oriented Si wafers into Si-alkyl bonds of the form Si-C n H 2nϩ1 (nу1). The electrical properties of such functionalized surfaces were investigated under high-level and low-level injection conditions using a contactless rf apparatus. The charge carrier recombination velocities of the alkylated surfaces were Ͻ25 cm s Ϫ1 under high-level and low-level injection conditions, implying residual surface trap densities of Ͻ3ϫ10 9 cm Ϫ2 . Although the carrier recombination velocity of hydrogen-terminated Si͑111͒ surfaces in contact with aqueous acids is Ͻ20 cm s Ϫ1 , this surface deteriorates within 30 min in an air ambient, yielding a high surface recombination velocity. In contrast, methylated Si͑111͒ surfaces exhibit low surface recombination velocities in air for more than 4 weeks. Low surface recombination velocities were also observed for Si surfaces that had been modified with longer alkyl chains.

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“…In solar cells, such a surface band bending is normally achieved by incorporating dielectric passivation layers with fixed charges, such as a-Si:N x :H (positive charges) or a-AlO x (negative charges). The surface potential, and thus the SRV, may also be modulated directly by applying voltage to a gate electrode placed on top of a dielectric passivation layer 3,4 or by deposition of charged ions on the surface in a corona discharge chamber 5,6 . The corona charge method has the advantage of being non-invasive (the charges can be washed off by a polar solvent), and has traditionally been the method of choice for characterization of dielectric passivation layers in solar cells.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Modulating the field-effect passivation at the SiO2/c-Si interface: Analysis and verification of the photoluminescence imaging under applied bias method

Haug

Olibet

Nordseth

et al. 2013

Journal of Applied Physics

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In this paper we study the surface passivation properties of thermally oxidized silicon wafers with controlled surface band bending, using a new characterization technique combining calibrated photoluminescence imaging with the application of an external voltage over the rear side passivation layer. Various aspects of the technique and possible errors in the determination of the effective surface recombination velocity are discussed, including lateral carrier diffusion, leakage currents and optical effects related to the presence of metal electrodes on the investigated samples.In order to quantitatively describe the recombination activity at the SiO 2 /c-Si interface and the effect of fixed charges in the oxide layer the measured effective carrier lifetime vs. voltage curves have been analyzed in the framework of an extended Shockley-Read Hall recombination model. Furthermore, the results have been compared with corresponding results from microwave detected photoconductance decay measurements after depositing corona charges. We find an excellent agreement between the two techniques and between complementary measurements of the oxide charge density. Photoluminescence imaging under applied bias gives fast and repeatable measurements and allows for simultaneous data collection from multiple areas on the sample, and has thus been proven to be powerful tool for quantitative characterization of surface passivation layers.

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Electron-hole recombination at the Si-SiO2 interface

Cited by 57 publications

References 8 publications

PECVD Silicon Nitride Passivation on Boron Emitter: The Analysis of Electrostatic Charge on the Interface Properties

PECVD Silicon Nitride Passivation on Boron Emitter: The Analysis of Electrostatic Charge on the Interface Properties

Preparation of air-stable, low recombination velocity Si(111) surfaces through alkyl termination

Modulating the field-effect passivation at the SiO2/c-Si interface: Analysis and verification of the photoluminescence imaging under applied bias method

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