Hydrogenated amorphous silicon carbide (a-SiC:H) can provide exceptional surface passivation essential for high-efficiency crystalline silicon solar cells. This thesis reports on the fundamental study of a-SiC:H films deposited using a novel deposition technique, DC saddle field PECVD, in contrast to the conventional industrial use of RF-PECVD. The growth conditions were optimized and correlated with passivating, structural, and optical characteristics. The lifetime has a strong dependency on deposition temperature and improves by over two orders of magnitude as the temperature increases; the maximum lifetime achieved in this work reached 0.5 ms. In addition, the Tauc optical gap can be increased from 1.7 eV to 2.3 eV by varying the precursor gas mixture ratio. Post-deposition annealing experiments demonstrate thermal stability of the samples deposited at 250 °C and in some instances shows improvement in passivation quality by a factor of two with a one-step annealing treatment at 300 °C for 15 minutes.

Abstract Silicon carbide is a versatile material amenable to variety of applications from electrical insulation to surface passivation, diffusion-barrier in optoelectronic and high-frequency devices. This research presents a fundamental study of a-SiC:H films with variable stoichiometries deposited using novel technique, DC saddle-field plasma-enhanced chemical-vapour deposition, a departure from conventional RF PECVD commonly used in industry. DCSF PECVD is an alternative technique for low temperature large area deposition. Stoichiometric a-SiC:H obtained by fine-tuning precursor gas mixture. Annealing up to 800oC showed no significant change in elemental composition; particularly indicating thermal stability at stoichiometry. Ellipsometry showed wide range of optical gaps whose maximum surpasses values reported in literature. Refractive index measured and change in values studied as function of increasing carbon content in the films. Also attainment of very smooth surface morphology for stoichiometric a-SiC:H films reported. Surface roughness of 1 nm rms demonstrated for films grown at temperature as low as 225oC.

abstract: Silicon solar cells with heterojunction carrier collectors based on a-Si/c-Si heterojunction (SHJ) have a potential to overcome the limitations of the conventional diffused junction solar cells and become the next industry standard manufacturing technology of solar cells. A brand feature of SHJ technology is ultrapassivated surfaces with already demonstrated 750 mV open circuit voltages (Voc) and 24.7% efficiency on large area solar cell. Despite very good results achieved in research and development, large volume manufacturing of high efficiency SHJ cells remains a fundamental challenge. The main objectives of this work were to develop a SHJ solar cell fabrication flow using industry compatible tools and processes in a pilot production environment, study the interactions between the used fabrication steps, identify the minimum set of optimization parameters and characterization techniques needed to achieve 20% baseline efficiency, and analyze the losses of power in fabricated SHJ cells by numerical and analytical modeling. This manuscript presents a detailed description of a SHJ solar cell fabrication flow developed at ASU Solar Power Laboratory (SPL) which allows large area solar cells with >750 mV Voc. SHJ cells on 135 um thick 153 cm2 area wafers with 19.5% efficiency were fabricated. Passivation quality of (i)a-Si:H film, bulk conductivity of doped a-Si films, bulk conductivity of ITO, transmission of ITO and the thickness of all films were identified as the minimum set of optimization parameters necessary to set up a baseline high efficiency SHJ fabrication flow. The preparation of randomly textured wafers to minimize the concentration of surface impurities and to avoid epitaxial growth of a-Si films was found to be a key challenge in achieving a repeatable and uniform passivation. This work resolved this issue by using a multi-step cleaning process based on sequential oxidation in nitric/acetic acids, Piranha and RCA-b solutions. The developed process allowed state of the art surface passivation with perfect repeatability and negligible reflectance losses. Two additional studies demonstrated 750 mV local Voc on 50 micron thick SHJ solar cell and < 1 cm/s effective surface recombination velocity on n-type wafers passivated by a-Si/SiO2/SiNx stack. / Dissertation/Thesis / Ph.D. Electrical Engineering 2013

Orientador: Leandro Russovski Tessler / Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de Física Gleb Wataghin / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-23T00:49:05Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Bosco_GiacomoBizinotoFerreira_M.pdf: 3165188 bytes, checksum: 27e8ce40743de16593a21508898815d8 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2013 / Resumo: Neste trabalho estudamos a fotoluminescência (PL) do Eu3+ em filmes finos de subnitretos de silício amorfo hidrogenado (a-SiNx:H) dopados com európio. No total, 85 amostras do material foram preparadas por RF-sputtering reativo variando o conteúdo de nitrogênio e európio. A caracterização composicional foi feita por RBS (Rutherfod Backscattering Spectroscopy). Coeficientes de absorção, índices de refração e espessuras das amostras foram determinados por espectroscopia de transmitância ótica UV-VIS. A PL foi medida a temperatura ambiente e a 10K em função da temperatura de recozimento entre 250 e 1100°C sob atmosfera redutora de nitrogênio ou oxidante de oxigênio. Para as amostras recozidas em atmosfera de N2, não foi observada nenhuma PL proveniente dos íons Eu3+. Há, no entanto indicações da PL característica de íons Eu2+. Após quase um ano de tentativas frustradas de obter PL dos íons Eu3+ foram determinados os parâmetros das amostras que otimizam o processo: concentração de nitrogênio x em torno de 1,17, temperatura de recozimento de 1100oC em atmosfera de oxigênio e concentração de európio y = [Eu]/[Si] = 8,9 at%.. A emissão do Eu3+ em a-SiNx:H foi analisada pela teoria de campo cristalino usando um pacote de programas que otimiza os parâmetros de campo cristalino da camada f. Para isso, analisamos também o espectro do Eu2O3 em pó, usado como referencia. Assim confirmamos que os íons ativos de Eu3+ ocupam sítios de simetria pontual C2. A analise dos dados para a-SiNx:H sugere que nesse material os íons Eu3+ ocupam sítios com a mesma simetria encontrada em Eu2O3 mas muito mais suscetíveis aos efeitos de desordem. Considerando essa simetria e o tratamento térmico necessário, e razoável supor a formação de clusters de oxido de európio de dimensões nanométricas em torno dos íons Eu3+ / Abstract: In this work we studied the photoluminescence (PL) of Eu3+ in europium doped hydrogenated amorphous silicon subnitrides thin films (a-SiNx:H). In total, 85 samples of the material were prepared by reactive RF-sputtering varying the nitrogen and europium contents. Compositional characterization was obtained by RBS (Rutherford Backscattering Spectroscopy). Absorption coefficients, refraction indexes ans sample thicknesses were determined by UV-VIS optical transmittance spectroscopy. The PL was measured at room temperature and at 10K as a function of the sample annealing temperature between 250 and 1100°C under a reductive nitrogen atmosphere or an oxidant oxygen atmosphere. For the N2 annealed samples, we did not observe any PL from Eu3+ íons. There are, however, indications of Eu2+ characteristic emission. After almost a year of frustrated attempts to obtain PL from Eu3+ ions the parameters which optimize the process were determined: nitrogen content x around 1,17, annealing temperature of 1100oC under oxygen atmosphere and europium content y = [Eu]/[Si] = 8,9 at%. The Eu3+ emission in a-SiN1,17:H was analyzed using crystal field theory and a program suite to optimize f-shell crystal field parameters. We also analyzed the PL spectrum of powder Eu2O3 to use as a reference. The data analysis for a-SiNx:H suggests that in this material the Eu3+ active ions occupy sites with the same C2 point symmetry found in Eu2O3 but much distorted due to disorder. Considering this symmetry and the sample treatment necessary to obtain the PL, it is reasonable suppose the formation of europium oxide nanometer scale clusters around the Eu3+ ions / Mestrado / Física / Mestre em Física

>Magister Scientiae - MSc / Amorphous silicon carbide (a-SiC) is a versatile material due to its interesting mechanical, chemical and optical properties that make it a candidate for application in solar cell technology. As a-SiC stoichiometry can be tuned over a large range, consequently is its bandgap. In this thesis, amorphous silicon carbide thin films for solar cells application have been deposited by means of the electron-beam physical vapour deposition (e-beam PVD) technique and have been isochronally annealed at varying temperatures. The structural and optical properties of the films have been investigated by Fourier transform Infrared and Raman spectroscopies, X-ray diffraction, Scanning Electron Microscopy, Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy and UV-VIS-NIR spectroscopy. The effect of annealing is a gradual crystallization of the amorphous network of as-deposited silicon carbide films and consequently the microstructural and optical properties are altered. We showed that the microstructural changes of the as-deposited films depend on the annealing temperature. High temperature enhances the growth of Si and SiC nanocrystals in amorphous SiC matrix. Improved stoichiometry of SiC comes with high band gap of the material up to 2.53 eV which makes the films transparent to the visible radiation and thus they can be applied as window layer in solar cells.

Ce travail a pour objectifs d'apporter des connaissances au niveau des propriétés électriques de transistors en couches minces (TFTs) à base de silicium polymorphe (pm-Si :H), ainsi qu'au niveau de la structure du matériau polymorphe. Nous nous sommes également intéressé à une nouvelle méthode de cristallisation d'une couche de silicium amorphe par interférométrie laser qui présente un fort potentiel pour le développement de matrice active en silicium polycristallin de grandes dimensions. Nous avons d'abord mis en évidence un courant OFF plus faible dans les TFTs en pm-Si :H que dans les TFTs en silicium microcristallin (µc-Si :H). Nos études ont également montré que les TFTs en pm-Si :H ne sont pas, ou très peu, sujet à la contamination par l'oxygène lors du procédé de fabrication, problème rencontré dans la fabrication des TFTs en µc-Si :H. Nous avons ensuite étudié la dérive de la tension de seuil lorsque les TFTs sont stressés électriquement. Nous avons mis en évidence des résultats similaires à ceux observer dans les TFTs en silicium amorphe (a-Si :H), à savoir que la création de défauts dans la couche active est le mécanisme responsable de la dérive de VT pour des tensions de grille faibles et des temps de stress courts, alors que le piégeage de charges dans le nitrure de grille est responsable de la dérive de VT lorsque les tensions de grille sont élevées et les temps de stress longs. Il s'est avéré que les TFTs en pm-Si :H sont plus stables que les TFTs en a-Si :H. Dans un second temps, les analyses structurales de films minces de pm-Si :H ont montré la présence de cristallites de quelques nanomètres dans la couche. De même, nous avons isolé le signal de diffraction de rayons X d'une telle couche et mis en évidence une organisation structurale à plus grande distance que pour le silicium amorphe, ce qui est cohérent avec les résultats des stress électriques. Pour finir, nous avons étudié une méthode de cristallisation du a-Si par interférences laser 4 faisceaux. Nous avons observé une structuration périodique de la couche dans un système cubique face centrée. Les observations TEM ont montré que la couche était bien cristallisée. Les observations MEB suite à la révélation des joints de grains ont montré ce qu'il semble être un réseau de germes de µc-SiH avec un pas de 652 nm et la présence continue de grains et de joints de grains entre ces germes. / This work aims to provide knowledge on electrical properties of thin-film transistors(TFTs) based on polymorphous silicon (pm-Si: H), and on polymorphous material structure.We also focused on a new method of crystallization of amorphous silicon layer by laserinterferometry, which has great potential for the development of active matrix flat paneldisplays based on polysilicon.We first identified a lower OFF current in TFTs based on pm-Si: H than inmicrocrystalline silicon (μc-Si: H) TFTs. Our studies have also shown that pm-Si: H TFTs donot present oxygen contamination during the fabrication process, which is a problemencountered in the fabrication of μc-Si:H TFTs. We then studied the threshold voltage shift ofpm-Si:H TFTs under electrical stress. We have found results similar to those observed inamorphous silicon TFTs (a-Si:H), namely, defects creation in the active layer which isresponsible for the threshold voltage shift (ΔVT) for low gate voltage and short times stress,and charge trapping in the gate silicon nitride is responsible for ΔVT for high gate voltage andlong time stress. We also shown that pm-Si:H TFTs are more stable under electrical stressthan a-Si:H TFT.In a second step, the structural analysis of thin films of pm-Si: H revealed the presence ofcrystallites about few nanometers in the polymorphous layer. Similarly, we isolated the X-raydiffraction signal of polymorphous layer and revealed a structural organization at larger rangethan in amorphous silicon layer, which is consistent with the results of electrical stress.Finally, we studied a method of crystallization of a-Si by 4-beams laser interferences. Weobserved a periodic structure of the layer in a face-centered cubic system. TEM observationsshowed that the layer was well crystallized. SEM observations after revelation of grainboundaries showed what appears to be a network of μc-Si seed with a pitch of 652 nm and thepresence of a continued layer of grains and grain boundaries between these seeds.

Selectively-transparent and conducting photonic crystals (STCPCs) made of alternating layers of sputtered indium-tin oxide (ITO) and spin-coated silica (SiO2) nanoparticle films have potential applications in micromorph solar cells and building integrated photovoltaics (BIPVs). In this work, theoretical calculations have been performed to show performance enhancement of the micromorph solar cell upon integration of the STCPC an intermediate reflector. Thin semi-transparent hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) solar cells with STCPC rear contacts are demonstrated in proof-of-concept devices. A 10% efficiency increase in a 135nm thick a-Si:H cell on an STCPC reflector with Bragg peak at 620nm was observed, while the transmitted solar irradiance and illuminance are determined to be 295W/m2 and 3480 lux, respectively. The STCPC with proper Bragg peak positioning can boost the a-Si:H cell performance while transmitting photons that can be used as heat and lighting sources in building integrated photovoltaic applications.

No description available.

Devido às suas potenciais aplicações tecnológicas (células solares, transistores de filme fino TFT, etc.), o estudo do silício amorfo (a-Si) tem despertado o interesse da comunidade científica desde o final da década de 70. Mais recentemente, este interesse foi renovado com o desenvolvimento da técnica de cristalização induzida por metal (Metal-induced Crystallization MIC), por causa do considerável interesse na obtenção do silício cristalino (c-Si) a baixas temperaturas. Dentre as principais abordagens adotadas para o estudo da MIC, destaca-se aquela realizada em estruturas consistindo de camadas alternadas de silício amorfo e filmes metálicos, por exemplo. Conseqüentemente, concluiu-se que a difusão de átomos do semicondutor para o metal (e/ou vice-versa) é o mecanismo responsável pela cristalização. Esta explicação fenomenológica, entretanto, não considera os mecanismos microscópicos que provocam a cristalização à baixa temperatura. Tendo isto por base, este trabalho diz respeito a uma abordagem diferente e complementar para a investigação do processo de MIC, através da inserção de uma quantidade controlada e homogeneamente distribuída de átomos de metal na rede amorfa. Para este estudo, filmes de silício amorfo dopados com diferentes concentrações de Ni e possuindo diferentes espessuras, depositados em substratos de c-Si, c-Ge, quartzo cristalino e vidro foram preparados pela técnica de sputtering de rádio freqüência, em uma atmosfera controlada de argônio. Com o objetivo de se investigar a influência exercida pela estrutura atômica nos mecanismos de cristalização destes filmes, todos foram submetidos a tratamentos térmicos cumulativos até 1000 oC. Para isto, os filmes foram caracterizados pelas técnicas de espalhamento Raman, transmissão óptica, EDS (energy dispersive spectrometry) e microscopia eletrônica de varredura (SEM). Os resultados experimentais indicam que a quantidade de Ni, a espessura e a natureza do substrato determinam a temperatura para o qual se inicia a cristalização dos filmes de a-Si, e que a espessura e a presença de Ni têm efeito direto sobre as propriedades ópticas dos filmes. Estudos preliminares utilizando-se as técnicas de microscopia de força atômica (AFM) e Extended X-ray Absorption Fine Structure (EXAFS) também foram feitos. / Due to their great technological potential (solar cells, thin film transistors, etc.), the study of amorphous silicon (a-Si) is attracting the attention of the scientific community since the 70s. More recently, such interest was renewed with the development of the Metal-induced Crystallization (MIC) technique, because of considerable interest in low-temperature formation of crystalline silicon (c-Si). Amongst the principal approaches to the study of MIC, stand out that performed on structures consisting of alternating layers of amorphous silicon and metal films, for example. Consequently, they conclude that the diffusion of semiconductor atoms into the metal (and/or vice-versa) is the mechanism responsible for the crystallization. This phenomenological explanation, however, does not consider the microscopic mechanisms that provoke the low temperature crystallization. Based on the above ideas, this work refers to a different and complementary approach to investigate the MIC process, by the insertion of a controlled and homogeneously distributed amount of metal atoms in the amorphous network. For this study, amorphous silicon films doped with different Ni concentrations and having different thicknesses, deposited on c-Si, c-Ge, crystalline quartz and glass substrates were prepared by the radio frequency sputtering technique in a controlled atmosphere of argon. In order to investigate the influence exerted by the atomic structure on the crystallization mechanisms of these films, all of them have been submitted to cumulative thermal annealing treatments up to 1000 &#61616;C. To that aim, the films were investigated by Raman scattering, optical transmission, energy dispersive spectrometry (EDS) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The experimental results indicate that the Ni content, the thickness and the nature of the substrate determines the crystallization temperature onset of the a-Si films, and that the thickness and the presence of Ni have direct effect on the optical properties of the films. Preliminary studies using the atomic force microscopy (AFM) and Extended X-ray Absorption Fine Structure (EXAFS) techniques have also been carried out.

Neste trabalho investigamos as modificações na morfologia superficial e estrutura de filmes finos de silício amorfo hidrogenado, resultantes da irradiação com pulsos ultracurtos de femtossegundos (150 fs, 775 nm e 1 kHz). Os processos de microfabricação foram conduzidos varrendo, a velocidade constante, um feixe laser com diferentes fluências (1,8 a 6,2 MJ/m2) sobre a amostra. Os espectros de transmissão apresentaram queda para amostras irradiadas, cujas imagens de microscopia eletrônica de varredura mostraram estruturas superficiais condizentes com o fenômeno de LIPSS (Laser Induced Periodic Surface Structures). Uma análise estatística das imagens de microscopia de força atômica foi realizada com um programa que identifica e caracteriza os domínios (picos) produzidos pela microfabricação. O histograma de altura da amostra irradiada com uma fluência de 3,1 MJ/m2 mostrou que a altura média dos picos produzidos é de 15 nm, menor que o centro da distribuição de alturas para uma amostra não irradiada. Porém, para fluências acima de 3,7 MJ/m2 a morfologia é dominada pela formação de agregados. Medidas de espectroscopia Raman revelaram a formação de uma fração de silício cristalino, após a irradiação com pulsos de femtossegundos, de até 77% para 6,2 MJ/m2. Determinamos ainda uma diminuição da dimensão dos nanocristais produzidos com o aumento da fluência do laser de excitação. Portanto, nossos resultados mostram que há um compromisso entre as propriedades obtidas pela microfabricação (transmissão, distribuição de picos, fração de cristalização e tamanho dos nanocristais produzidos) que deve ser levado em conta ao aplicar a técnica de microestruturação com laser de femtossegundos. / In this work we investigated surface morphology and structural modification on hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) thin films, resulting from femtosecond laser irradiation (150 fs, 775 nm and 1 kHz). Microfabrication processes were carried out scanning sample´s surface, at constant speed, with distinct laser fluencies (from 1.8 to 6.2 MJ/m2). A decrease was observed in the transmission spectra of irradiated samples, whose scanning electron microscopy images revealed surface structures compatible with the Laser Induced Periodic Surface Structure (LIPSS) phenomenon. A statistical analyzes of Atomic Force Microcopy images was performed using a specially developed software, that identifies and characterizes the domains (spikes) produced by the laser irradiation. The height histogram for a sample irradiated with 3.1 MJ/m2 reveals that the average height of the produced spikes is at 15 nm, which is smaller than the center of height distribution for non-irradiated sample. For fluencies higher than 3.7 MJ/m2, however, aggregation of the produced spikes dominates the sample morphology. Raman spectroscopy revealed the formation of a crystalline fraction of 77% for laser fluence irradiation of 6.2 MJ/m2, as well as a decrease in size of the produced crystals as a function of fluence. Therefore, our results indicate that there is a compromise of the sample transmission, spikes distribution, crystallization fraction and size of nanocrystals obtained by fs-laser irradiation, which has to be taken into consideration when using this material processing method.