Microcrystalline Distribution Analysis in Thin-Film Microcrystalline Silicon Solar Cells by Atom Probe Tomography
Yasuo ShimizuKenji TakiTaiki HashiguchiHirotaka KatayamaMitsuhiro MatsumotoAkira TerakawaHitoshi SaiTakuya MatsuiKoji InoueYasuyoshi Nagai
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Microcrystalline silicon deposited from SiF 4 /H 2 /Ar gas mixtures is used as active absorbing layer in thin film solar cells. Best solar cells are made from active layers deposited at the amorphous-to-microcrystalline transition where only a few percent of amorphous phase is present. Based on mass spectrometry measurements, we propose a simple model which accounts for the relevant features of the complex plasma chemistry: namely the depletion of H 2 , the formation of HF molecules and the amorphous to microcrystalline silicon transition. The specificity of SiF 4 /H 2 /Ar plasma is the ability to tightly tune the transition irrespective of the control of the deposition rate. A high crystalline fraction allows thicknesses above 3 μm with a high short-circuit current and no deterioration of the open-circuit voltage.
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We have compared the structural and optoelectronic properties of n-type microcrystalline hydrogenated silicon oxide (n-µc-SiO:H) and n-type microcrystalline hydrogenated silicon (n-µc-Si:H) films with lowering of thickness, prepared by radio frequency plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (RF-PECVD, 13.56 MHz) method. At thickness ≤ 300 Å, the n-µc-SiO:H film has higher optical gap (E05) and lower optical absorption while retaining the photoconductivity (σph) and activation energy (Ea) similar to those for n-µc-Si:H film. Due to these advantages of n-µc-SiO:H film over that of n-µc-Si:H at low thickness this material has potential for use in improving the performance of single and double junction amorphous silicon solar cells.
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Hydrogenated microcrystalline silicon (μc-Si:H) intrinsic films and solar cells are prepared by plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) with various hydrogen dilution ratios.The influence of hydrogen dilution ratios on electrical characteristics is investigated to study the phase transition from amorphous to microcrystalline silicon.During the deposition process,the optical emission spectroscopy (OES) from plasma is recorded and compared with the Raman spectra of the films,by which the microstructure evolution of different H2 dilution ratios and its influence on the performance of μc-Si:H n-i-p solar cells is investigated.
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The roles of the hydrogenated microcrystalline silicon (μc-Si:H) p layer in the μc-Si:H p-i-n solar cell fabricated by plasma-enhanced vapor deposition are determined through evaluation of the photovoltaic characteristics of solar cells fabricated by varying the deposition time of p layer. Mechanisms of p-layer growth are analyzed with in situ Auger electron spectroscopy and ex situ Raman scattering spectroscopy. Each successive regime of film growth including an amorphous silicon layer, an incubation layer containing crystalline silicon nuclei, and a layer filled with conical crystalline silicon grains that evolves in the p-layer process leads to diverse changes in the crystalline development of the subsequent μc-Si:H i layer and in the characteristics of the solar cell.
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Abstract The three-dimensional (3D) distribution of nanosized silicon (Si) crystallites within a hydrogenated nanocrystalline Si (nc-Si:H) material is examined by laser-assisted atom probe tomography (APT). The amorphous and crystalline phases in nc-Si:H are distinguished by obtaining the 3D density distribution of H atoms, because the former contains a high H density. The H content in the amorphous phase is estimated to be approximately 15 at% by APT, which is consistent with that obtained by infrared spectroscopy. Thus, the 3D analysis of H distribution via APT is a powerful method to visualize the real shape of nanosized crystallites within nc-Si:H materials.
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Intrinsic hydrogenated microcrystalline silicon (muc-Si:H) films were prepared by hot-wire chemical vapor deposition (HWCVD) using a graphite filament at a substrate temperature of 210degC. Films were characterized by Raman Spectroscopy, FTIR and electrical conductivity measurements with varying silane concentrations on glass substrates. Solar cells were fabricated in a glass/SnO 2 /pin/Al structure and device efficiency was measured to be 2.8%
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