Influence of intermediate layers on the surface condition of laser crystallized silicon thin films and solar cell performance

The intermediate layer (IL) between glass substrate and silicon plays a significant role in the optimization of multicrystalline liquid phase crystallized silicon thin film solar cells on glass. This study deals with the influence of the IL on the surface condition and the required chemical surface treatment of the crystallized silicon (mc-Si), which is of particular interest for a-Si:H heterojunction thin film solar cells. Two types of IL were investigated: sputtered silicon nitride (SiN) and a layer stack consisting of silicon nitride and silicon oxide (SiN/SiO). X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy measurements revealed the formation of silicon oxynitride (SiOxNy) or silicon oxide (SiO2) layers at the surface of the mc-Si after liquid phase crystallization on SiN or SiN/SiO, respectively. We propose that SiOxNy formation is governed by dissolving nitrogen from the SiN layer in the silicon melt, which segregates at the crystallization front during crystallization. This process is successfully hindered, when...