On combining surface and bulk passivation of SiN/sub x/:H layers for mc-Si solar cells

Soppe, W.J.; Hong, Jung-Wan; Kessels, W.M.M.; Sanden, M.C.M. van de; Arnoldbik, W.M.; Schlemm, H.; Devilee, C.; Rieffe, H.C.; Schiermeier, S.E.A.; Bultman, J.H.; Weeber, A.W.

doi:10.1109/pvsc.2002.1190480

Cited by 8 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 2 publications

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“…[22][23][24] The in-line system at ECN, which consists of loadlock and preheating and cooling compartments, is capable of processing 150 wafers (10ϫ10 cm 2 size͒ per hour in a continuous process. The plasma source is situated in the middle compartment of the reactor and consists of a quartz tube with a Cu antenna inside.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Influence of the high-temperature “firing” step on high-rate plasma deposited silicon nitride films used as bulk passivating antireflection coatings on silicon solar cells

Hong

Kessels

Soppe

et al. 2003

Journal of Vacuum Science &Amp; Technology B: Microelectronics and Nanometer Structures Processing, Measurement, and Phenomena

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102

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confidence: 99%

Influence of the high-temperature “firing” step on high-rate plasma deposited silicon nitride films used as bulk passivating antireflection coatings on silicon solar cells

Hong

Kessels

Soppe

et al. 2003

Journal of Vacuum Science &Amp; Technology B: Microelectronics and Nanometer Structures Processing, Measurement, and Phenomena

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102

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“…However, for thicker LPC-Si absorbers, additional hydrogen passivation is imperative to reduce recombination in the bulk as also observed for solar cells using multicrystalline wafers. 69 …”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Influence of Chemical Composition and Structure in Silicon Dielectric Materials on Passivation of Thin Crystalline Silicon on Glass

Calnan

Gabriel

Rothert

et al. 2015

ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces

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In this study, various silicon dielectric films, namely, a-SiOx:H, a-SiNx:H, and a-SiOxNy:H, grown by plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) were evaluated for use as interlayers (ILs) between crystalline silicon and glass. Chemical bonding analysis using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy showed that high values of oxidant gases (CO2 and/or N2), added to SiH4 during PECVD, reduced the Si-H and N-H bond density in the silicon dielectrics. Various three layer stacks combining the silicon dielectric materials were designed to minimize optical losses between silicon and glass in rear side contacted heterojunction pn test cells. The PECVD grown silicon dielectrics retained their functionality despite being subjected to harsh subsequent processing such as crystallization of the silicon at 1414 °C or above. High values of short circuit current density (Jsc; without additional hydrogen passivation) required a high density of Si-H bonds and for the nitrogen containing films, additionally, a high N-H bond density. Concurrently high values of both Jsc and open circuit voltage Voc were only observed when [Si-H] was equal to or exceeded [N-H]. Generally, Voc correlated with a high density of [Si-H] bonds in the silicon dielectric; otherwise, additional hydrogen passivation using an active plasma process was required. The highest Voc ∼ 560 mV, for a silicon acceptor concentration of about 10(16) cm(-3), was observed for stacks where an a-SiOxNy:H film was adjacent to the silicon. Regardless of the cell absorber thickness, field effect passivation of the buried silicon surface by the silicon dielectric was mandatory for efficient collection of carriers generated from short wavelength light (in the vicinity of the glass-Si interface). However, additional hydrogen passivation was obligatory for an increased diffusion length of the photogenerated carriers and thus Jsc in solar cells with thicker absorbers.

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“…This high mass density is identical to the optimal value reported for parallel plate PECVD at which the best bulk passivation is observed. 39 A detailed study of the hydrogen behavior on the applied high density HWCVD SiN x coatings was conducted, 45 and revealed that in all layers the hydrogen release mainly originated from the N-H bond configuration. It is remarkable that in both experiments the IQE value for wavelength smaller than 600 nm the cells, with HWCVD SiN x , was significantly better.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This difference is caused by unoptimized cell processing parameters for the cells with HW deposited SiN x , such as firing conditions. For example, HW deposited SiN x has a higher mass density 39,40 and may therefore necessitate different firing settings for optimization of the FF. In addition the thickness homogeneity of the layers could play a role here, since the cells are 6Á5 Â 6Á5 cm 2 , whereas the homogeneous zone in our experimental HW reactor is 5 Â 5 cm 2 .…”

Section: Hwcvd Sin X On Ecn Mc-si Solar Cellsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Multi‐crystalline Si solar cells with very fast deposited (180 nm/min) passivating hot‐wire CVD silicon nitride as antireflection coating

Verlaan

Werf

Houweling

et al. 2007

Progress in Photovoltaics

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Hot‐wire chemical vapor deposition (HWCVD) is a promising technique for very fast deposition of high quality thin films. We developed processing conditions for device‐ quality silicon nitride (a‐SiNx:H) anti‐reflection coating (ARC) at high deposition rates of 3 nm/s. The HWCVD SiNx layers were deposited on multicrystalline silicon (mc‐Si) solar cells provided by IMEC and ECN Solar Energy. Reference cells were provided with optimized parallel plate PECVD SiNx and microwave PECVD SiNx respectively. The application of HWCVD SiNx on IMEC mc‐Si solar cells led to effective passivation, evidenced by a Voc of 606 mV and consistent IQE curves. For further optimization, series were made with HW SiNx (with different x) on mc‐Si solar cells from ECN Solar Energy. The best cell efficiencies were obtained for samples with a N/Si ratio of 1·2 and a high mass density of >2·9 g/cm3. The best solar cells reached an efficiency of 15·7%, which is similar to the best reference cell, made from neighboring wafers, with microwave PECVD SiNx. The IQE measurements and high Voc values for these cells with HW SiNx demonstrate good bulk passivation. PC1D simulations confirm the excellent bulk‐ and surface‐passivation for HW SiNx coatings. Interesting is the significantly higher blue response for the cells with HWCVD SiNx when compared to the PECVD SiNx reference cells. This difference in blue response is caused by lower light absorption of the HWCVD layers (compared to microwave CVD; ECN) and better surface passivation (compared to parallel plate PECVD; IMEC). The application of HW SiNx as a passivating antireflection layer on mc‐Si solar cells leads to efficiencies comparable to those with optimized PECVD SiNx coatings, although HWCVD is performed at a much higher deposition rate. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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On combining surface and bulk passivation of SiN/sub x/:H layers for mc-Si solar cells

Cited by 8 publications

References 2 publications

Influence of the high-temperature “firing” step on high-rate plasma deposited silicon nitride films used as bulk passivating antireflection coatings on silicon solar cells

Influence of the high-temperature “firing” step on high-rate plasma deposited silicon nitride films used as bulk passivating antireflection coatings on silicon solar cells

Influence of Chemical Composition and Structure in Silicon Dielectric Materials on Passivation of Thin Crystalline Silicon on Glass

Multi‐crystalline Si solar cells with very fast deposited (180 nm/min) passivating hot‐wire CVD silicon nitride as antireflection coating

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