Femtosecond laser hyperdoping and micro/nanotexturing of silicon for photovoltaics

Benjamin Franta; Meng-Ju Sher; Yu-Ting Lin; Katherine C. Phillips; Eric Mazur

doi:10.1117/12.908671

21 February 2012 Femtosecond laser hyperdoping and micro/nanotexturing of silicon for photovoltaics

Benjamin Franta, Meng-Ju Sher, Yu-Ting Lin, Katherine C. Phillips, Eric Mazur

Proceedings Volume 8243, Laser Applications in Microelectronic and Optoelectronic Manufacturing (LAMOM) XVII; 82431D (2012) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.908671
Event: SPIE LASE, 2012, San Francisco, California, United States

Abstract

We have developed a technique, optical hyperdoping, for doping semiconductors to unusually high levels and endowing them with remarkable optoelectronic properties. By irradiating silicon (Si) with a train of femtosecond laser pulses in the presence of heavy chalcogen (sulfur, selenium, and tellurium) compounds, a 100-300 nm thin layer of Si is doped to nonequilibrium levels (~1 at. %). Hyperdoped silicon exhibits near-unity photon absorptance from the ultraviolet (λ < 0.25 μm) to the mid-infrared (λ > 2.5 μm), even though crystalline silicon is normally transparent to wavelengths λ > 1.1 μm due to its band gap at 1.1 eV. Concurrent to doping, we are also able to use fs-laser irradiation to create light-trapping surface textures on the micro- and nanometer scales. Together, optical hyperdoping and surface texturing represent a route towards high-performance thin film photovoltaic devices.

Citation Download Citation

Benjamin Franta, Meng-Ju Sher, Yu-Ting Lin, Katherine C. Phillips, and Eric Mazur "Femtosecond laser hyperdoping and micro/nanotexturing of silicon for photovoltaics", Proc. SPIE 8243, Laser Applications in Microelectronic and Optoelectronic Manufacturing (LAMOM) XVII, 82431D (21 February 2012); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.908671

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