Study of the composition of hydrogenated silicon nitride SiNx:H for efficient surface and bulk passivation of silicon

Lelièvre, Jean‐François; Fourmond, Erwann; Kaminski, A.; Palais, Olivier; Ballutaud, D.; Lemiti, M.

doi:10.1016/j.solmat.2009.01.023

Cited by 153 publications

(107 citation statements)

References 40 publications

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“…(3). The average values for ܳ given in Table 1 are somewhat lower than the typical values of 2-3 • 10 ଵଶ cm -2 previously reported for PECVD a-SiN x :H layers [10][11][12], but are still large enough to cause inversion conditions of the surface of the p-type samples. p-type sample 7.9 · 10 11 0.4 · 10 11 n-type sample 7.0 · 10 11 0.8 · 10 11 Table. 1.…”

Section: Capacitance-voltage Measurementscontrasting

confidence: 58%

Photoluminescence imaging under applied bias for characterization of Si surface passivation layers

Haug

Nordseth

Monakhov

et al. 2012

Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells

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In this work, we present a novel characterization technique for the analysis of Si surface passivation layers, using a photoluminescence imaging setup. In this technique the effective lifetime of passivated Si wafers is measured while applying an external bias over a rear side dielectric film. We demonstrate that this method can be used to analyze the passivation of silicon surfaces in inversion, depletion and accumulation conditions. In this paper the method is illustrated by characterization of a-SiN x :H passivation layers deposited by plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition. The characterization results are interpreted both in the framework of the extended Shockley-Read Hall theory and by PC1D simulations. For the a-SiN x :H layers, the effective surface recombination velocity parameter is found to be 5-7 times larger for electrons than for holes and the fixed insulator charge density is found to be 6.1 − 6.5 • 10 ଵଵ cm -2 under illumination, in agreement with results from capacitance-voltage measurements.

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Section: Capacitance-voltage Measurementscontrasting

confidence: 58%

Photoluminescence imaging under applied bias for characterization of Si surface passivation layers

Haug

Nordseth

Monakhov

et al. 2012

Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells

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show abstract

“…All of the investigated layers feature a hydrogen-rich SiN x :H layer and received a firing step. It is commonly assumed that the improvement of passivation quality during a firing step is, at least in part, re-lated to a hydrogen passivation of interface states [32], [33]. Accordingly, a loss of hydrogen at higher annealing temperatures as suggested in [34]- [36] or a reconfiguration of hydrogen bonding states [37], [38] could lead to a decrease in surface passivation quality.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Degradation of Surface Passivation on Crystalline Silicon and Its Impact on Light-Induced Degradation Experiments

Sperber

Graf

Skorka

et al. 2017

IEEE J. Photovoltaics

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Abstract-A decrease of surface passivation quality is observed in FZ, Cz, and mc-Si lifetime samples during light-induced degradation (LID) treatments. It is shown that this degradation occurs not only in samples with single SiN x :H layers but also when using layer stacks consisting of SiO x /SiN x :H or AlO x :H/SiN x :H. Timeresolved calculation of the surface saturation current density J 0 s is shown to be a reliable method to separate changes in the bulk and at the surface of samples during LID treatments. The impact of the observed changes in passivation quality on the outcome and interpretation of LID experiments aiming at changes in the bulk of Cz or mc-Si is investigated and discussed.

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“…[5][6][7][8] On c-Si substrates, low surface recombination has been achieved by various plasma techniques and gas mixtures. [9][10][11][12][13][14][15] Details of the deposition processes and silicon substrates employed in these studies are included in Table I. Figure 1 summarizes the results by plotting the upper limit to the e S eff,UL is cited at excess carrier density n = 10 15 cm −3 and recalculated using the latest Auger model.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Characterisation and optimisation of PECVD SiNx as an antireflection coating and passivation layer for silicon solar cells

Wan¹,

McIntosh²,

Thomson³

2013

AIP Advances

116

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In this work, we investigate how the film properties of silicon nitride (SiNx) depend on its deposition conditions when formed by plasma enhanced chemical vapour deposition (PECVD). The examination is conducted with a Roth & Rau AK400 PECVD reactor, where the varied parameters are deposition temperature, pressure, gas flow ratio, total gas flow, microwave plasma power and radio-frequency bias voltage. The films are evaluated by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy to determine structural properties, by spectrophotometry to determine optical properties, and by capacitance–voltage and photoconductance measurements to determine electronic properties. After reporting on the dependence of SiNx properties on deposition parameters, we determine the optimized deposition conditions that attain low absorption and low recombination. On the basis of SiNx growth models proposed in the literature and of our experimental results, we discuss how each process parameter affects the deposition rate and chemical bond density. We then focus on the effective surface recombination velocity Seff, which is of primary importance to solar cells. We find that for the SiNx prepared in this work, 1) Seff does not correlate universally with the bulk structural and optical properties such as chemical bond densities and refractive index, and 2) Seff depends primarily on the defect density at the SiNx-Si interface rather than the insulator charge. Finally, employing the optimized deposition condition, we achieve a relatively constant and low Seff,UL on low-resistivity (≤1.1 Ωcm) p- and n-type c-Si substrates over a broad range of n = 1.85–4.07. The results of this study demonstrate that the trade-off between optical transmission and surface passivation can be circumvented. Although we focus on photovoltaic applications, this study may be useful for any device for which it is desirable to maximize light transmission and surface passivation

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Study of the composition of hydrogenated silicon nitride SiNx:H for efficient surface and bulk passivation of silicon

Cited by 153 publications

References 40 publications

Photoluminescence imaging under applied bias for characterization of Si surface passivation layers

Photoluminescence imaging under applied bias for characterization of Si surface passivation layers

Degradation of Surface Passivation on Crystalline Silicon and Its Impact on Light-Induced Degradation Experiments

Characterisation and optimisation of PECVD SiNx as an antireflection coating and passivation layer for silicon solar cells

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