Deposition of intrinsic hydrogenated amorphous silicon for thin‐film solar cells – a comparative study for layers grown statically by RF‐PECVD and dynamically by VHF‐PECVD

Hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a‐Si:H) is conventionally deposited using static plasma‐enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) processes. In this work, a very high frequency (VHF) dynamic deposition technique is presented, on the basis of linear plasma sources. This configuration deploys a simple reactor design and enables continuous deposition processes, leading to a high throughput. Hence, this technique may facilitate the use of flexible substrates. As a result, the production costs of thin‐film silicon solar cells could be reduced significantly. We found a suitable regime for the homogeneous deposition of a‐Si:H layers for growth rates from 0.35–1.1 nm/s. The single layer properties as well as the performance of corresponding a‐Si:H solar cells are investigated and compared with a state‐of‐the‐art radio frequency (RF) PECVD regime. By analyzing the Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy spectra of single layers, we found an increasing hydrogen concentration with deposition rate for both techniques, which is in agreement with earlier findings. At a given growth rate, the hydrogen concentration was at the same level for intrinsic layers deposited by RF‐PECVD and VHF‐PECVD. The initial efficiency of the corresponding p–i–n solar cells ranged from 9.6% at a deposition rate of 0.2 nm/s (RF regime) to 8.9% at 1.1 nm/s (VHF regime). After degradation, the solar cell efficiency stabilized between 7.8% and 5.9%, respectively. The solar cells incorporating intrinsic layers grown dynamically using the linear plasma sources and very high frequencies showed a higher stabilized efficiency and lower degradation loss than solar cells with intrinsic layers grown statically by RF‐PECVD at the same deposition rate. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Dependence of wet etch rate on deposition, annealing conditions and etchants for PECVD silicon nitride film

tchants for SiO2 and SiNx:H. A high etching selectivity of SiO2 over SiNx:H was obtained using highly concentrated buffered HE     

沉积、退火条件以及刻蚀液对PECVD氮化硅薄膜湿法刻蚀速率的影响

The influence of deposition, annealing conditions, and etchants on the wet etch rate of plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition （PECVD） silicon nitride thin film is studied. The deposition source gas flow rate and annealing temperature were varied to decrease the etch rate of SiNx：H by HF solution. A low etch rate was achieved by increasing the SiH4 gas flow rate or annealing temperature, or decreasing the NH3 and N2 gas flow rate. Concentrated, buffered, and dilute hydrofluoric acid were utilized as etchants for Sit2 and SiNx：H. A high etching selectivity of Sit2 over SiNx：H was obtained using highly concentrated buffered HE     

Optical characterization of hydrogenated amorphous silicon thin films deposited at high rate

The aim of this paper is to provide a better understanding of hydrogenated amorphous silicon thin films (a-Si:H) in relation to their optical properties: refractive index, optical gap, absorption coefficient, thickness and surface roughness. The transmission spectrum of the films, deposited with various rf discharge power densities by an optimized plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) method, at a high rate (>10 Å/sec), was measured over a range in wavelength from 500 to 1100 nm. An approximate model is utilized to describe the surface roughness. In this model, the surface roughness is modeled as a mixed layer of 50 percent of a-Si:H and 50 percent of air and the optical constant of the rough layer is derived using the Bruggemann effective medium approximation (EMA). The gradient iteration method of numerical analysis is used to solve the nonlinear equations in the study. Our results show that the potential underestimation of refractive index and resulting overestimation of film thickness can be overcome by considering the reflection of the rough surface. The method is carried out on the transmission data and the influence of rf discharge power density on the properties of the film is discussed in detail.     

PECVD法制备纳米晶硅薄膜的研究进展

简要介绍了纳米晶硅薄膜的微结构表征方法,重点讨论了PECVD制备方法中工艺参数对薄膜结构的影响,并探讨了氢在薄膜形成和生长中的作用。通过优化氢稀释率、衬底温度、反应气压、激励功率和激发频率等工艺参数可提高纳米晶硅薄膜的晶化率并改善薄膜质量。结合喇曼光谱、X射线衍射谱、傅里叶红外光谱和高分辨透射电镜等表征方法可深入研究薄膜形成机理,对进一步探索薄膜光电特性有重要意义。分析了等离子体化学气相沉积(PECVD)制备方法中各工艺参数对薄膜质量和沉积速率的影响,指出其存在的问题,并探寻了今后的研究方向。     

低应力PECVD SiC晶圆级薄膜封装新技术

为了解决MEMS封装过程中易对微致动件造成损伤的问题,提出了一种低成本、与CMOS工艺兼容的晶圆级薄膜封装技术,用等离子体增强化学气相淀积(PECVD)法制备的低应力SiC作为封装和密封材料。此材料的杨氏模量为460 GPa,残余应力为65 MPa,可使MEMS器件悬浮时封装部位不变形。与GaAs,Si半导体材料相比,SiC具有较佳的物理稳定性,较高的杨氏模量等性能优势。将PECVD薄膜封装技术用于表面微结构和绝缘膜上Si(SOI)微结构部件(如射频开关、微加速度计等)封装中,不仅减小了封装尺寸,降低了芯片厚度,简化了封装工艺,而且封装芯片还与CMOS工艺兼容。较之晶圆键合封装方式,此晶圆级薄膜封装成本可降低5%左右。     

Impact of the Cu-based substrates and catalyst deposition techniques on carbon nanotube growth at low temperature by PECVD

This article reports on carbon nanotubes (CNT) grown on TiN/Cu stacks by plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) at 450 °C. Ni catalyst was deposited by two techniques - physical vapor deposition (PVD) and electrochemical deposition (ECD). First, the influence of the catalyst thickness and the catalyst deposition technique on grown CNTs is investigated. Second, the enhancement of the CNTs growth by use of electrodeposited catalysts is emphasized.     

Low temperature plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition of silicon oxide films using disilane and nitrous oxide

Silicon oxide films have been deposited between room temperature and 300°C using disilane and nitrous oxide by plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition. Film deposition was investigated as a function of the gas flow ratio of nitrous oxide to disilane, the substrate temperature, the total gas flow rate, the radio frequency discharge power, and the process pressure. The stoichiometric SiO₂ films were obtained when the gas ratio of nitrous oxide to disilane was in the range of 50-150. The deposition was found to be nearly temperature independent indicating the mass transport limited regime.     

PECVD沉积双层SiNx对太阳电池性能的影响

提出了一种简单有效的制备双层SiNx薄膜的方法,其薄膜具有良好的减反射钝化特性。采用等离子体增强化学气相沉积(PECVD)的方法,通过控制SiH4和NH3气体流量比,在p型多晶硅衬底上生长单层及双层SiNx膜。随后使用薄膜测试分析仪测量了薄膜的厚度、折射率及反射率,并用Semilab WT-2000测量少数载流子寿命,通过测量量子效率,对单、双层膜电池进行了比较。实验结果表明:相比单层减反射钝化膜,采用双层SiNx膜,少数载流子寿命可以得到更好的改善,开路电压可提高约2 mV,短路电流可提高约40 mA,电池效率能提高0.15%。     

Optical properties of silicon rich silicon oxides obtained by PECVD

In this work optical properties of SiO_X (0<X<2) layers obtained by plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition are studied. Infrared spectra and refractive index dependences with the reactant gases flow ratio R are explained for as deposited, aged and thermally treated samples in the R range from 9.17 to 110. Variations are found to be influenced mainly by sample stoichiometry, density and Si-OH bonds concentration.     

二维流体模型的建立及其在微晶硅薄膜中的应用

建立二维流体模型,研究甚高频等离子体化学气相沉积(VHF-PEVCVD)高速沉积氢化微晶硅(μc-Si:H)薄膜.模型采用平行电容耦合放电方式. 模拟条件与实验条件相同,均为甚高频(70 MHz)、高H2稀释SiH4和高压耗尽区域.模型的几何结构是根据实际高速沉积μc-Si:H薄膜的反应腔室建立的.模型是自适应的,建立在玻尔兹曼方程和泊松方程基础之上,包含87个气相反应和25个表面反应.将模拟沉积速率与相同实验条件下的结果相比较,结果发现,模型在微晶区域运行结果与实验结果吻合得很好.     

Deposition of highly efficient microcrystalline silicon solar cells under conditions of low H2 dilution: the role of the transient depletion induced incubation layer

This paper addresses the plasma deposition of highly efficient microcrystalline silicon (μc‐Si:H) p‐i‐n solar cells under conditions of high SiH₄ utilization and low H₂ dilution. It was established that the transient depletion of the initially present SiH₄ source gas induces the formation of an amorphous incubation layer that prevents successful crystallite nucleation in the i‐layer and leads to poor solar cell performance. The effect of this transient depletion induced incubation layer on solar cells was made visible through dedicated solar cell deposition series and selected area electron diffraction measurements. Applying a gas flow procedure at plasma ignition it was succeeded to prepare state‐of‐the‐art μc‐Si:H material and solar cells under low hydrogen dilution conditions, highlighted by μc‐Si:H solar cells of up to 9·5% efficiency prepared using an undiluted source gas flow consisting solely of SiH₄. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Optimization of saturation current density of PECVD SiN coated phosphorus diffused emitters using neural network modeling

Emitter surface passivation by low temperature plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) silicon nitride is investigated and optimized in this paper. We have found that the saturation current density of a 90±10 μ/sq phosphorus diffused emitter with N_s ≈3 x 10¹⁹ and X_j ≈0.3 μm can be lowered by a factor of eight by appropriate PECVD silicon nitride deposition and photoassisted anneal. PECVD silicon nitride deposition alone reduces the emitter saturation density (J_oe) by about a factor of two to three, and a subsequent photoanneal at temperatures ≥350°C reduces J_oe by another factor of three. In spite of the larger flat band shift for direct PECVD silicon nitride coating, the silicon nitride induced surface passivation is found to be about a factor of two inferior to the thermal oxide plus PECVD silicon nitride passivation due to higher interface state density at the SiN/SiO₂ interface compared to SiO₂/Si interface. A combination of statistical experimental design and neural network modeling is used to show quantitatively that lower radio frequency power, higher substrate temperature, and higher reactor pressure during the PECVD deposition can reduce the J_oe of the silicon nitride coated emitter.     

Physical properties of memory quality PECVD silicon nitride

Memory-quality silicon nitride has been deposited using plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD). Film composition was varied by controlling the nitrogen concentration of the reactant gases. The effects of the source and content of the nitriding agent on the physical properties of the film were studied using ellipsometry and ultraviolet (UV), fourier transform infrared (FTIR) and Auger electron spectroscopy. Refractive index of the films varied from 1.77 to 1.95 corresponding to Si/N ratios of 0.75 to 1.03. Ultraviolet spectroscopy yielded band edge values of 4.9 to 2.2 eV depending on the Si/N ratio. Window size, endurance and retention performance is comparable to that reported for both atmospheric- and low-pressure chemical vapor deposited films. A strong correlation between the Si-H bond concentration and the memory performance was observed. Although some excess silicon in the film is needed for memory operation in a metal-nitride-oxide-silicon (MNOS) structure, excessive amounts result in low breakdown fields, small memory windows and poor retention characteristics. This work was supported by a grant from the National Science Foundation.     

IC表面钝化PECVD工艺的计算机模拟

本文介绍了一种新的工艺研究途径－神经网络反向传播算法（ＢＰ算法），并对其网络学习收敛速度的加快进行了讨论，取得了较好的效果；利用改进的神经网络ＢＰ算法，我们通过建立ＩＣ表面钝化工艺的神经网络模型，对ＩＣ表面钝化工艺进行了计算机模拟，精确地预报了实验结果并得到了相关工艺条件与钝化介质膜特性的关系曲线，所编写的神经网络应用程序已用Ｃ语言在计算机上得到了实现。     

淀积参数对PECVD氮化硅薄膜力学特性的影响

等离子增强化学气相淀积(PECVD)法制备的氮化硅薄膜具有沉积温度低、生长速率高和残余应力可调节等特点,研究其力学特性对研制MEMS器件和系统具有重要意义。采用HQ-2型PECVD淀积台,在沉积温度为350℃,NH3流量为30cm3/min的条件下,通过改变氩气稀释至5%的SiH4流量和射频功率大小,制备了具有压应力、微应力和张应力的多种氮化硅薄膜样品。采用纳米压痕仪Nanoidenter-G200对淀积薄膜的杨氏模量和硬度进行测试,结果表明,在较小的SiH4流量和较高的射频功率条件下,淀积的氮化硅薄膜具有更高的杨氏模量和硬度。     

PECVD法氮化硅薄膜生长工艺的研究

采用等离子体增强化学气相沉积法(PECVD),在单晶硅衬底(100)上成功制备了不同生长工艺条件下的氮化硅薄膜。分别采用XP-2台阶仪、椭圆偏振仪等手段测试了薄膜的厚度、折射率、生长速率等参数。并采用原子力显微镜(AFM)研究了薄膜的表面形貌。结果表明,温度和射频功率是影响薄膜生长速率的主要因素,生长速率变化幅度可以达到230nm/min甚至更高。对于薄膜折射率和成分影响最大的是NH3流量,折射率变化范围可以达到2.7～1.86。分析得出受工艺参数调控的薄膜生长速率对薄膜的性质有重要影响。     

RF-PECVD法研究碳纳米管的生长特性

采用射频等离子体增强化学气相沉积(RF-PECVD),以Fe作为催化剂,在Si基片上生长了碳纳米管(CNT),采用扫描电子显微镜(SEM),高分辨透射电子显微镜(HR TEM)以及显微Raman光谱等对制备的CNT的形貌及结构进行了表征.结果表明:700℃和800℃温度下生长的CNT均取向无序、弯曲缠结,由整齐排列的圆...     

基于不同单光子能量拉曼谱的氢化硅薄膜微观特性研究

用等离子体增强化学汽相沉积法（PECVD）在玻璃和单晶硅（c-Si）衬底上分别制备了氢化纳米硅（nc-Si：H）和非晶硅（a-Si：H）薄膜,用紫外、可见和近红外3种不同波长的激光线对不同形态的Si薄膜进行拉曼散射实验研究。研究发现,这些Si薄膜在不同的单光子能量的激光线激发下的拉曼谱线形也不同。进而通过对Si薄膜材料...     

等离子体过程不稳定性和氢处理对HIT电池界面特性影响的研究

采用等离子体增强化学气相沉积（PECVD）技术制备薄膜硅/晶体硅异质结,通过测量沉积了本征非晶硅（a-Si:H(i)）后晶体硅（c-Si）的少子寿命以及结构为Ag/a-Si:H(p)/a-Si:H(i)/c-Si(n) /Ag 异质结的暗I-V特性,研究了等离子体初期瞬态过程和氢预处理对异质结界面性质的影响。结果表明：使用挡板且当挡板时间（tS）大于100秒时,可以有效地减少等离子体初期瞬态过程对界面性质的负面影响;与热丝化学气相沉积中氢原子处理有利于界面钝化不同,PECVD中的氢等离子体处理,由于氢原子的轰击特性,对钝化可能存在一定的不利影响;最优氢预处理时间为60秒。