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Properties of interfaces in amorphous/crystalline silicon heterojunctions
Author(s) -
Olibet Sara,
VallatSauvain Evelyne,
Fesquet Luc,
Monachon Christian,
HesslerWyser Aïcha,
DamonLacoste Jérôme,
De Wolf Stefaan,
Ballif Christophe
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
physica status solidi (a)
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.532
H-Index - 104
eISSN - 1862-6319
pISSN - 1862-6300
DOI - 10.1002/pssa.200982845
Subject(s) - dangling bond , passivation , heterojunction , materials science , amorphous silicon , recombination , crystalline silicon , silicon , optoelectronics , amorphous solid , solar cell , transmission electron microscopy , chemical physics , molecular physics , nanotechnology , crystallography , chemistry , biochemistry , layer (electronics) , gene
To study recombination at the amorphous/crystalline Si (a‐Si:H/c‐Si) heterointerface, the amphoteric nature of silicon (Si) dangling bonds is taken into account. Modeling interface recombination measured on various test structures provides insight into the microscopic passivation mechanisms, yielding an excellent interface defect density reduction by intrinsic a‐Si:H and tunable field‐effect passivation by doped layers. The potential of this model's applicability to recombination at other Si heterointerfaces is demonstrated. Solar cell properties of a‐Si:H/c‐Si heterojunctions are in good accordance with the microscopic interface properties revealed by modeling, that are, e.g., slight asymmetries in the neutral capture cross‐sections and band offsets. The importance of atomically abrupt interfaces and the difficulties to obtain them on pyramidally textured c‐Si is studied in combination with transmission electron microscopy.