Inverted Aluminum-Induced Layer Exchange Method for Thin Film Polycrystalline Silicon Solar Cells on Insulating Substrates

Kuraseko, Hiroshi; Orita, Nobuaki; Koaizawa, Hisashi; Kondo, Michio

doi:10.1143/apex.2.015501

Cited by 25 publications

(26 citation statements)

References 11 publications

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“…The initial a-Si layer can be exposed to air to form a Si-oxide, [17][18][19] or a thin Al layer can be evaporated on the a-Si, which is oxidized to form an Al-oxide. 15 For both configurations a complete layer exchange is observed.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 91%

“…This leads to a reduction in the series resistance and therefore to higher solar cell efficiencies. 15,16 While for the ALILE process the interlayer is commonly an Al-oxide, in the R-ALILE process two different alternatives are used. The initial a-Si layer can be exposed to air to form a Si-oxide, [17][18][19] or a thin Al layer can be evaporated on the a-Si, which is oxidized to form an Al-oxide.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Two-step crystallization during the reverse aluminum-induced layer exchange process

Jaeger

Bator

Matich

et al. 2010

Journal of Applied Physics

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In this work, the reverse aluminum-induced layer exchange (R-ALILE) process with an initial layer stack of substrate/amorphous Si/Si-oxide/Al was studied in detail. The influence of the annealing temperature on the sample properties was investigated by optical reflection/transmission measurements and Raman spectroscopy. In addition, focused ion beam measurements were conducted to elucidate the inner structure of the layers. Two steps during crystallization were observed: at first a substrate/Al–Si composite/closed poly-Si layer structure is formed with an activation energy EApoly-Si=1.1 eV, which can be transferred to the stable configuration of substrate/Al+Si-islands (hillocks)/poly-Si by extended annealing or a high temperature step (EAhillocks=2.4 eV). Both processes are basically independent at low annealing temperatures due to the large difference in activation energy. The transformation of the Al–Si composite to the Al/Si-hillock structure involves the crystallization of a-Si regions and their subsequent coalescence, different to the feedback mechanism suggested for the normal ALILE process, where hillock and closed poly-Si growth are believed to influence each other. This insight into the process leads to the possibility to prepare poly-Si layers on pure Al back contacts by R-ALILE, possibly improving efficiencies of solar cells prepared by epitaxial overgrowth of poly-Si seed layers.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 91%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Two-step crystallization during the reverse aluminum-induced layer exchange process

Jaeger

Bator

Matich

et al. 2010

Journal of Applied Physics

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“…This method enables us to fabricate seed layers for epitaxially grown absorbers for thin-film solar cells on inexpensive SiO 2 substrates [2][3][4][5][6][7]. Conventional solid phase crystallization (SPC) requires temperatures higher than 600 1C, and the Si grains obtained are as small as a few mm [8].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dependence of crystal orientation in Al-induced crystallized poly-Si layers on SiO2 insertion layer thickness

Okada

Toko

Hara

et al. 2012

Journal of Crystal Growth

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a b s t r a c tWe have fabricated poly-Si thin films on fused silica substrates by the Al-induced crystallization (AIC) method with SiO 2 insertion layers of various thicknesses (0-20 nm). The growth morphologies of polySi layers were dramatically changed by the SiO 2 thickness, i.e., thin layers (2 nm) provided high growth rates and (100) orientations, and thick layers (10 nm) provided low growth rates and (111) orientations. These results showed that the crystal orientation of AIC-Si significantly depends on the diffusion rate of Si atoms into the Al layer.

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“…This is favorable for the subsequent growth of BaSi 2 layers, because a-axis-oriented BaSi 2 films can be epitaxially grown on Si(111) with a lattice mismatch of approximately 1% [11][12][13][14][15]. However, the growth of (1 0 0)-oriented Si layers has been also reported [16][17][18].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fabrication of (111)-oriented Si layers on SiO2 substrates by an aluminum-induced crystallization method and subsequent growth of semiconducting BaSi2 layers for photovoltaic application

Tsukada

Matsumoto

Sasaki

et al. 2009

Journal of Crystal Growth

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a b s t r a c tWe have prepared (111)-oriented Si layers on SiO 2 (fused silica) substrates from amorphous-Si(a-Si)/Al or Al/a-Si stacked layers using an aluminum-induced crystallization (AIC) method. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) intensity from the (111) planes of Si was found to depend significantly on growth conditions such as the thicknesses of Si and Al, deposition order (a-Si/Al or Al/a-Si on SiO 2 ), deposition technique (sputtering or vacuum evaporation) and exposure time of the Al layer to air before the deposition of Si.The crystal orientation of the Si layers was confirmed by yÀ2y, 2y XRD and electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD). The photoresponse properties of semiconducting BaSi 2 films formed on the (111)-oriented Si layers by the AIC method were measured at room temperature. Photocurrents were clearly observed for photon energies greater than 1.25 eV. The external quantum efficiencies of the BaSi 2 were also evaluated.

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Inverted Aluminum-Induced Layer Exchange Method for Thin Film Polycrystalline Silicon Solar Cells on Insulating Substrates

Cited by 25 publications

References 11 publications

Two-step crystallization during the reverse aluminum-induced layer exchange process

Two-step crystallization during the reverse aluminum-induced layer exchange process

Dependence of crystal orientation in Al-induced crystallized poly-Si layers on SiO2 insertion layer thickness

Fabrication of (111)-oriented Si layers on SiO2 substrates by an aluminum-induced crystallization method and subsequent growth of semiconducting BaSi2 layers for photovoltaic application

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