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Role of a‐Si:H bulk in surface passivation of c‐Si wafers
Author(s) -
Illiberi A.,
Sharma K.,
Creatore M.,
van de Sanden M. C. M.
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
physica status solidi (rrl) – rapid research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.786
H-Index - 68
eISSN - 1862-6270
pISSN - 1862-6254
DOI - 10.1002/pssr.201004139
Subject(s) - passivation , wafer , thermal stability , annealing (glass) , materials science , hydrogen , silicon , amorphous solid , thermal , amorphous silicon , chemical engineering , optoelectronics , nanotechnology , crystalline silicon , metallurgy , chemistry , crystallography , layer (electronics) , physics , organic chemistry , engineering , meteorology
The low thermal stability of hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a‐Si:H) thin films limits their widespread use for surface passivation of c‐Si wafers on the rear side of solar cells. We show that the thermal stability of a‐Si:H surface passivation is increased significantly by a hydrogen rich a‐Si:H bulk, which acts as a hydrogen reservoir for the a‐Si:H/c‐Si interface. Based on this mechanism, an excellent lifetime of 5.1 ms (at injection level of 10 15 cm –3 ) is achieved after annealing at 450 °C for 10 min. (© 2010 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)