Injection-level dependent surface recombination velocities at the silicon-plasma silicon nitride interface

Aberle, Armin G.; Lauinger, T.; Schmidt, Jan; Hezel, Rudolf

doi:10.1063/1.113443

Cited by 57 publications

(19 citation statements)

References 1 publication

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“…More specifically, there is an increasing injection dependence at low n, whereby τ eff increases with n, consistent with the silicon surface being in inversion due to positive insulator charges. 27,28 With C-V measurements, we confirm this speculation. As evident in the inset of Figure 5(a), Q eff increases with an increase of deposition temperature.…”

Section: Dependence Of Film Properties On Deposition Parameterssupporting

confidence: 76%

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

Wan¹,

McIntosh²,

Thomson³

2013

AIP Advances

110

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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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Section: Dependence Of Film Properties On Deposition Parameterssupporting

confidence: 76%

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

Wan¹,

McIntosh²,

Thomson³

2013

AIP Advances

110

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…In reality, surface recombination is complicated due to the presence of fixed charges and a distribution of interface trap states. 35 Previous works have also shown that the injection dependence of S eff for silicon nitride 36 and silicon oxide 37 passivation is sensitive to the base doping of Si. A more accurate treatment of surface recombination involves taking into account these phenomena.…”

Section: Limitations Of Techniquementioning

confidence: 97%

Proof-of-concept framework to separate recombination processes in thin silicon wafers using transient free-carrier absorption spectroscopy

Siah

Winkler

Powell

et al. 2015

Journal of Applied Physics

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We present a proof-of-concept framework to independently determine the bulk Shockley-Read-Hall (SRH) lifetime and surface recombination velocity in silicon wafers self-consistently. We measure the transient decay of free-carrier absorption (FCA) using two different excitation wavelengths (1050 and 750 nm) for p-type crystalline Si (c-Si) wafers over a wide injection range and fit the FCA transients for the two excitation wavelengths in a coupled manner. In this way, we can estimate the surface recombination lifetime accurately. However, we find that the capability to uniquely measure extrinsic bulk-SRH recombination is challenging in the presence of other recombination processes and can be broadly categorized into five different regimes depending on the relative strengths of each recombination pathway.

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“…els. 36, which does not provide a conclusive estimation for S at high injection conditions for unpassivated samples. The experimental data and the simulation are compared in Fig.…”

Section: A Reliabilitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Quantitative carrier lifetime measurement with micron resolution

Gundel

Heinz

Schubert

et al. 2010

Journal of Applied Physics

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In the last fifteen years the measurement of the spatially resolved carrier lifetime has emerged as a valuable tool for the characterization of silicon wafers and solar cells. In most of the available measurement methods, the spatial resolution is constrained to the order of several 10 to 100 µm by the diffusion length of the charge carriers. In this paper we introduce a contactless quantitative technique to determine the Shockley-Read-Hall lifetime with a spatial resolution of 1µm. This technique is based on high injection microphotoluminescence spectroscopy and allows a quantitative analysis of microscopic defects such as grain boundaries and metal precipitates by virtue of the high spatial resolution

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Injection-level dependent surface recombination velocities at the silicon-plasma silicon nitride interface

Cited by 57 publications

References 1 publication

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

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

Proof-of-concept framework to separate recombination processes in thin silicon wafers using transient free-carrier absorption spectroscopy

Quantitative carrier lifetime measurement with micron resolution

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