Plasma damage effect on ultraviolet-induced degradation of PECVD SiNx:H passivation

Kamioka, Takefumi; Takai, Daisuke; Tachibana, Takeshi; Kojima, Takuto; Ohshita, Yoshio

doi:10.1109/pvsc.2015.7356326

Cited by 10 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 8 publications

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“…Several studies showed that the silicon nitride passivation by a‐SiN x :H (abbreviated SiN in this work) degrades under UV irradiation . However, the effect was investigated only with non‐fired samples.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

UV-induced degradation of PERC solar modules with UV-transparent encapsulation materials

Witteck

Veith‐Wolf

Schulte‐Huxel

et al. 2017

Prog. Photovolt: Res. Appl.

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In this paper, we report on the stability of p-type passivated emitter and rear cells under ultraviolet (UV) exposure with various silicone nitride passivation coatings and embedded in different encapsulation polymers. Our results reveal that UV transparent polymers can result in a module power loss of up to 6% under a UV irradiation dose of 497 kWh/m 2 . We show that the degradation in power is caused by a reduction in open circuit voltage. This loss is related to an increased recombination in the cell, which we ascribe to a degradation of the surface passivation. With ray tracing simulations, we determine the number of photons reaching the passivation interface. Assuming that all photons with energies above 3.5 eV de-passivate the interface is in agreement with our experimental results.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

UV-induced degradation of PERC solar modules with UV-transparent encapsulation materials

Witteck

Veith‐Wolf

Schulte‐Huxel

et al. 2017

Prog. Photovolt: Res. Appl.

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“…To avoid carrier recombination at defects and improve minority carrier lifetimes, the cell surfaces are generally passivated using dielectric layers, such as hydrogenated silicon nitride (Si x N y :H) and/or silicon dioxide (SiO 2 ). However, UV exposure can disrupt this surface passivation by damaging the passivation layer itself or the passivation layer/Si cell interface 11–14 as well as causing subsurface damage in the silicon 15,16 . Different research groups have identified distinct wavelengths in the 300–400 nm spectral range as the damaging wavelengths of incident radiation for UV degradation of Si solar cells 13,14,17–24 …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…One explanation for the vulnerability of Si x N y passivation arises from the deposition processes of Si x N y films. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) examination revealed that during plasma‐enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD), a damaged layer of around 50 nm is formed at the c‐Si side of Si x N y /Si interface, which is passivated with H atoms 15 . However, the recombination velocity at this region is increased by the UV irradiation, resulting in a decrease in carrier lifetime.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

UV‐induced degradation of high‐efficiency silicon PV modules with different cell architectures

Sinha

Qian

Moffitt

et al. 2022

Progress in Photovoltaics

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Degradation from ultraviolet (UV) radiation has become prevalent in the front of solar cells due to the introduction of UV-transmitting encapsulants in photovoltaic (PV) module construction. Here, we examine UV-induced degradation (UVID) in various commercial, unencapsulated crystalline silicon cell technologies, including bifacial silicon heterojunction (HJ), interdigitated back contact (IBC), passivated emitter and rear contact (PERC), and passivated emitter rear totally diffused (PERT) solar cells.We performed UV exposure tests using UVA-340 fluorescent lamps at 1.24 WÁm À2 (at 340 nm) and 45 C through 4.02 MJÁm À2 (2000 h). Our results showed that modern cell architectures are more vulnerable to UVID, leading to a significant power decrease (À3.6% on average; À11.8% maximum) compared with the conventional aluminum back surface field (Al-BSF) cells (<À1% on average). The power degradation is largely caused by the decrease in short-circuit current and open-circuit voltage. A greater power decrease is observed in bifacial cells with rear-side exposure compared with those with front-side exposure, indicating that the rear side is more susceptible to UV damage. Secondary ion mass spectroscopy (SIMS) confirmed an increase in hydrogen concentration near the Si/passivation interface in HJ and IBC cells after UV exposure; the excess of hydrogen could result in hydrogen-induced degradation and subsequently cause higher recombination losses. Additionally, surface oxidation and hot-carrier damage were identified in PERT cells. Using a spectralbased analysis, we obtained an acceleration factor of 5Â between unpackaged cells (containing a silicon nitride antireflective coating on the front) in the UV test and an encapsulated module (with the front glass and encapsulant blocking 90% of the UV at 294 nm and 353 nm, respectively) in outdoor conditions. From the analytical calculations, we show that a UV-blocking encapsulant can reduce UV transmission in the

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“…Cells with an amorphous silicon nitride a‐SiN y :H (abbreviated SiN in this work) passivation layer on a n + ‐type emitter were reported to suffer from UV induced degradation due to an increase in the density of states D it . Several references showed that thermal treatment and UV light changes the fixed charge Q f and decreases the surface passivation.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 96%

UV radiation hardness of photovoltaic modules featuring crystalline Si solar cells with AlO_x/p⁺‐type Si and SiN_y/n⁺‐type Si interfaces

Witteck

Min

Schulte‐Huxel

et al. 2017

Physica Rapid Research Ltrs

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We report on the UV radiation hardness of photovoltaic modules with bifacial n-type Passivated Emitter and Rear Totally diffused crystalline Si cells that are embedded in an encapsulation polymer with enhanced UV transparency. Modules with front junction cells featuring an AlO x /p þ -type Si passivation interface at the illuminated side are stable for a UV irradiation dose of 598 kWh m À2 . In contrast, irradiating modules with back junction cells featuring an a-SiN y /n þ -type Si passivation interface at the illuminated side reduces the output power by 15%. The quantum efficiency of the a-SiN ypassivated module degrades in the spectral range between 300 and 1000 nm, which we ascribe to a degradation of the surface passivation. Modeling the experimental data shows that photons with an energy above 3.4 eV contribute to the degradation effect and enhance the front surface recombination current density by a factor of 15.

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Plasma damage effect on ultraviolet-induced degradation of PECVD SiNx:H passivation

Cited by 10 publications

References 8 publications

UV-induced degradation of PERC solar modules with UV-transparent encapsulation materials

UV-induced degradation of PERC solar modules with UV-transparent encapsulation materials

UV‐induced degradation of high‐efficiency silicon PV modules with different cell architectures

UV radiation hardness of photovoltaic modules featuring crystalline Si solar cells with AlO_x/p⁺‐type Si and SiN_y/n⁺‐type Si interfaces

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Plasma damage effect on ultraviolet-induced degradation of PECVD SiNx:H passivation

Cited by 10 publications

References 8 publications

UV-induced degradation of PERC solar modules with UV-transparent encapsulation materials

UV-induced degradation of PERC solar modules with UV-transparent encapsulation materials

UV‐induced degradation of high‐efficiency silicon PV modules with different cell architectures

UV radiation hardness of photovoltaic modules featuring crystalline Si solar cells with AlOx/p+‐type Si and SiNy/n+‐type Si interfaces

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UV radiation hardness of photovoltaic modules featuring crystalline Si solar cells with AlO_x/p⁺‐type Si and SiN_y/n⁺‐type Si interfaces