Structural and electrical investigations of a-Si:H(i) and a-Si:H(n+) stacked layers for improving the interface and passivation qualities

Yu-Lin Hsieh; Chien-Chieh Lee; Chia-Cheng Lu; Yiin-Kuen Fuh; Jenq-Yang Chang; Ju-Yi Lee; Tomi T. Li

doi:10.1117/1.JPE.7.035503

14 September 2017 Structural and electrical investigations of a-Si:H(i) and a-Si∶H(n⁺) stacked layers for improving the interface and passivation qualities

Yu-Lin Hsieh, Chien-Chieh Lee, Chia-Cheng Lu, Yiin-Kuen Fuh, Jenq-Yang Chang, Ju-Yi Lee, Tomi T. Li

Author Affiliations +

Journal of Photonics for Energy, Vol. 7, Issue 3, 035503 (September 2017). https://doi.org/10.1117/1.JPE.7.035503

Abstract

A symmetrically stacked structure [(a-Si∶H(n⁺)/a-Si:H(i)/CZ wafer (n)/a-Si:H(i)/a-Si:H(n⁺)] was used to optimize the growth process conditions of the n-type hydrogenated amorphous silicon [a-Si∶H(n⁺)] thin films. Here a-Si:H(n⁺) film was used as back surface field (BSF) layer for the silicon heterojunction solar cell and all stacked films were prepared by conventional radio-frequency plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition. The characterizations of the effective carrier lifetime (τ_eff), electrical and structural properties, as well as correlation with the hydrogen dilution ratio (R = H₂∕SiH₄) were systematically discussed with the emphasis on the effectiveness of the passivation layer using the lifetime tester, spectroscopic ellipsometry, and hall measurement. High quality of a stacked BSF layer (intrinsic/n-type a-Si:H layer) with effective carrier lifetime of 1.8 ms can be consistently obtained. This improved passivation layer can be primarily attributed to the synergy of chemical and field effect to significantly reduce the surface recombination.

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Yu-Lin Hsieh, Chien-Chieh Lee, Chia-Cheng Lu, Yiin-Kuen Fuh, Jenq-Yang Chang, Ju-Yi Lee, and Tomi T. Li "Structural and electrical investigations of a-Si:H(i) and a-Si∶H(n⁺) stacked layers for improving the interface and passivation qualities," Journal of Photonics for Energy 7(3), 035503 (14 September 2017). https://doi.org/10.1117/1.JPE.7.035503

Received: 2 June 2017; Accepted: 22 August 2017; Published: 14 September 2017

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