Electronic and structural properties of the amorphous/crystalline silicon interface

A review of capacitance and conductance measurements on (n) a-Si:H/(p) c-Si structures is presented. Capacitance measurements performed on cells under AM 1.5 illumination at or close to open-circuit voltage are sensitive to the recombination at interfaces, as evidenced by the comparison with photoluminescence results. Capacitance measurements performed in the dark at zero or reverse bias can reveal the presence of interface defects from trapping and release of carriers, but the sensitivity is limited to a few 10¹² cm^− 2 eV^− 1. This is partly due to the presence of a strong inversion layer at the c-Si surface. Such a layer has been revealed from coplanar conductance measurements, which allow a precise determination of the conduction band offset, found equal to 0.15 (± 0.04) eV. As shown by spectroscopic ellipsometry, a thin undoped silicon layer deposited under conditions that normally produce polymorphous silicon can be epitaxially grown onto c-Si prior to the (n) a-Si:H layer. Electrical measurements indicate that this additional buffer layer is not detrimental and can slightly improve the interface quality.     

Langmuir-Blodgett films in amorphous silicon MIS structures

In this paper we describe the properties of MIS structures based on hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) and organic films deposited using the Langmuir-Blodgett technique. Results are reported for undoped a-Si:H passivated with an insulating film of cadmium stearate 80 nm thick. The deposition of the monolayers was found to be critically dependent on the surface condition of the semiconductor.The capacitance data display well-defined accumulation and depletion regions and suggest that inversion is obtained when the device is reverse biased. The conductance data are similar in shape to those observed for conventional MOS structures on crystalline silicon. However, hysteresis and frequency dispersion effects complicate their interpretation in terms of surface state densities.From this preliminary investigation we conclude that useful MOS devices incorporating both thick and thin insulating layers can be based on the a-Si:H/Langmuir-Blodgett film system.     

Depth profile measurements of aluminium film on phosphorus-doped hydrogenated amorphous silicon layers by Auger electron spectroscopy

Depth profile measurements are reported using Auger electron spectroscopy in aluminium films on phosphorus-doped hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) films prepared by r.f. glow discharge deposition. The data show that silicon is present in the aluminium film after heat treatment at a temperature as low as 200 °C. Thermal annealing before the aluminium deposition decreased the silicon signal strength in the aluminium film. The silicon signal was not detected in the aluminium film in contact with the a-Si:H through holes in an SiN film but the aluminium signal was detected in the a-Si:H film, probably at the uncovered margin of the SiN contact holes.     

掺硼非晶硅薄膜的微结构和电学性能研究

以硅烷(SiH4)和硼烷(B2H6)为气相反应先驱体，采用等离子体增强化学气相沉积法，(PECVD)制备出能应用于液晶光阀光导层的硼掺杂非晶氢硅薄膜。X射线衍射、原子力显微镜和光、暗电导测试表明，一定程度的硼掺杂提高了非晶氢硅薄膜的电导率、降低了非晶氢硅薄膜的光、暗电导比；硼掺杂促进薄膜晶态率的增加和硅晶粒尺寸的增大，薄膜的结晶状态将逐渐从非晶硅过渡到纳米硅，最后发展为多晶硅。红外吸收谱研究表明了大量的硼原子与硅、氢原子之间能形成某些形式的复合体，仅有少量硼元素对受主掺杂有贡献。     

SiNx/a-SiCx:H passivation layers for p- and n-type crystalline silicon wafers

In this work we present a detailed investigation of Si surface passivation obtained by a PECVD double dielectric layer, composed of intrinsic hydrogenated amorphous silicon-carbon (a-SiC_x:H), followed by a silicon nitride (SiN_x). The double layers have been deposited on p- and n-type of mono- and multi-crystalline silicon wafers. IR spectra have been carried out to evaluate the structure of a-SiC_x:H layers on monocrystalline wafers. The passivation effects have been studied performing the following measurements: the photoconductance decay, to measure contactlessly the effective lifetime of passived mono and multi Si wafers; the capacitance voltage profile of Al/SiN_x/Si, Al/a-SiC_x:H/Si and Al/SiN_x/a-SiC_x:H/Si MIS structures, to estimate the field effect at the dielectric/silicon interface and individuate the passivation mechanism on silicon surfaces. It has been found that the mechanism of the surface passivation depends on the doping type of the silicon wafer. Indeed from C-V measurements it has been realized that the great amount of positive charge within the SiN_x is able to promote an inversion layer if it is deposited on a-SiC_x:H/Si p-type and an accumulation if it is grown on a-SiC_x:H/Si n-type.     

Radial junction amorphous silicon solar cells on PECVD-grown silicon nanowires

Constructing radial junction hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) solar cells on top of silicon nanowires (SiNWs) represents a promising approach towards high performance and cost-effective thin film photovoltaics. We here develop an all-in?situ strategy to grow SiNWs, via a vapour-liquid-solid (VLS) mechanism on top of ZnO-coated glass substrate, in a plasma-enhanced chemical vapour deposition (PECVD) reactor. Controlling the distribution of indium catalyst drops allows us to tailor the as-grown SiNW arrays into suitable size and density, which in turn results in both a sufficient light trapping effect and a suitable arrangement allowing for conformal coverage of SiNWs by subsequent a-Si:H layers. We then demonstrate the fabrication of radial junction solar cells and carry on a parametric study designed to shed light on the absorption and quantum efficiency response, as functions of the intrinsic a-Si:H layer thickness and the density of SiNWs. These results lay a solid foundation for future structural optimization and performance ramp-up of the radial junction thin film a-Si:H photovoltaics.     

Characterization of defects in hydrogenated amorphous silicon deposited on different substrates by capacitance techniques

Hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) thin films deposited on crystalline silicon and Corning glass substrate were analyzed using different capacitance techniques. The distribution of localized states and some electronic properties were studied using the temperature, frequency and bias dependence of the Schottky barrier capacitance and deep level transient spectroscopy. Our results show that the distribution of the gap states depends on the type of substrate. We have found that the films deposited on c-Si substrate represent only one positively charged or prerelaxed neutral deep state and one interface state, while the films deposited on glass substrate have one interface state and three types of deep defect states, positively or prerelaxed neutral, neutral and negatively charged.     

Scanning photoinduced impedance microscopy using amorphous silicon photodiode structures

Scanning photoinduced impedance microscopy (SPIM) is an impedance imaging technique, which is based on photocurrent measurements at electrolyte-insulator-semiconductor (EIS) and metal-insulator-semiconductor (MIS) field-effect structures. The material to be investigated has to be deposited on top of the insulator (E/I or M/I interface). The lateral resolution of SPIM is limited by the lateral diffusion of minority charge carriers. Therefore, it would be advantageous if semiconductors with a short diffusion length of charge carriers such as amorphous silicon could be employed. However, field-effect capacitors fabricated using amorphous silicon suffered from a large number of interface states, high leakage currents through the insulator, and small photocurrents. In this work, field-effect capacitors were replaced by amorphous hydrogenated silicon photodiode structures (a-Si:H p-i-n/SiO2 or n-i-p/SiO2) as this was expected to result in higher photocurrents and eliminate the necessity of a high-quality insulator. The photodiode structures were shown to be suitable for SPIM measurements. The resolution of photocurrent measurements was found to depend strongly on the frequency of the modulated light and the doping concentration of the amorphous silicon layer closest to the insulator. An equivalent circuit model was developed to simulate this behavior.     

Annealing effects on capacitance-voltage characteristics of a-Si/SiN(x) multilayer prepared using hot-wire chemical vapour deposition

Post-deposition annealing of a-Si/SiN(x) multilayer films at different temperature shows varying shift in high frequency (1 MHz) capacitance-voltage (HFCV) characteristics. Various a-Si/SiN(x) multilayer films were deposited using hot wire chemical vapor deposition (HWCVD) and annealed in the temperature range of 800 to 900 degrees C to precipitate Si quantum dots (Si-QD) in a-Si layers. HFCV measurements of the as-deposited and annealed films in metal-insulator-semiconductor (MIS) structures show hysterisis in C-V curves. The hysteresis in the as-deposited films and annealed films is attributed to charge trapping in Si-dangling bonds in a-Si layer and in Si-QD respectively. The charge trapping density in Si-QD increases with temperature while the interface defects density (D(it)) remains constant.     

Nanocrystalline silicon thin films on PEN substrates

We study the structural and electrical properties of intrinsic layer growth close to the transition between amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) and nanocrystalline silicon (nc-Si:H), deposited on glass and PEN without intentional heating. These samples showed different behaviour in Raman shift and XRD spectra when compared with that of samples deposited at 200 °C. Electrical properties of these films also reflect the transition between a-Si:H and nc-Si:H, and put in evidence some differences between the microstructure of the films grown on PEN and on glass.P- and n-doped layers were deposited onto glass substrate without intentional heating and at 100 °C with thicknesses ranging from 1000 nm to 35 nm. Conductivity measurements indicate the capability of doping this material, but, for very thin layers, substrate heating was found to be essential.     

Aluminum-induced crystallization of amorphous silicon films deposited by hot wire chemical vapor deposition on glass substrates

Aluminum-induced crystallization of amorphous silicon films is discussed. Amorphous Si films were deposited by hot wire chemical vapor deposition onto Al coated glass substrates at 430 °C. Complete crystallization of a-Si films was achieved during a-Si deposition by controlling Al and Si layer thicknesses. The grain structure of the poly-Si films formed on glass substrate was evaluated by optical and electron microscopy. Continuous poly-Si films were obtained using Al layers with a thickness of 500 nm or less. The average grain size was found to be 10-15 μm, corresponding to a grain size/thickness ratio greater than 20.     

Characterization of SiNx/a-Si:H crystalline silicon surface passivation under UV light exposure

One of the most promising solution for crystalline silicon surface passivation in solar cell fabrication consists in a low temperature (< 400 °C) Plasma Enhanced Chemical Vapor Deposition of a double layer composed by intrinsic hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) and hydrogenated amorphous silicon nitride (SiN_x). Due to the high amount of hydrogen in the gas mixture during the double layer deposition, the passivation process results particularly useful in case of multi-crystalline silicon substrates in which hydrogenation of grain boundaries is very needed. In turn the presence of hydrogen inside both amorphous layers can induce metastability effects. To evaluate these effects we have investigated the stability of the silicon surface passivation obtained by the double layer under ultraviolet light exposure. In particular we have verified that this double layer is effective to passivate both p- and n-type crystalline silicon surface by measuring minority carrier high lifetime, via photoconductance-decay. To get better inside the passivation mechanisms, strongly connected to the charge laying inside the SiN_x layer, we have collected the Infrared spectra of the SiN_x/a-Si:H/c-Si structures and we have monitored the capacitance-voltage profiles of Al/SiN_x/a-Si:H/c-Si Metal Insulator Semiconductor structures at different stages of UltraViolet (UV) light exposure. Finally we have verified the stability of the double passivation layer applied to the front side of solar cell devices by measuring their photovoltaic parameters during the UV light exposure.     

Nano-structural properties of ZnO films for Si based heterojunction solar cells

Properties and structure of ZnO and ZnO:Al films deposited on c-Si, a-Si:H/Si and glass substrates are studied by various methods. The transmittance of the ZnO:Al was found to be higher when compared to ZnO, and the refractive index lower. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) shows that the screening efficiency in the presence of core holes is enhanced in the Al doped ZnO. The roughness of the ZnO:Al surfaces is strongly substrate dependent. With transmission electron microscopy (TEM) a 2-3 nm thick amorphous interfacial layer was observed independently of substrate and doping. Deposition of ZnO on a-Si:H substrate results in crystallization of the a-Si:H layer independently of Al doping.     

High efficiency amorphous silicon solar cells with high absorption coefficient intrinsic amorphous silicon layers

This paper considers the intrinsic layer of hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) solar cells. The deposition temperatures (T_d) and electrode distances (between cathode and anode, E/S) are important factors for a-Si:H solar cells. Thus, this study examines the effects of deposition temperatures and electrode distances in the intrinsic layer of a-Si:H solar cells with regard to enhanced the short-circuit current density (J_sc) and thereby conversion efficiency. It is shown that the J_sc of a-Si:H solar cells can be increased by proper choice of T_d and E/S of the i-a-Si:H layers. The J_sc of the a-Si:H solar cells is largely dependent on light absorption of the i-a-Si:H layer. It is demonstrated that the absorption coefficient in an i-a-Si:H layer can be increased to provide higher J_sc under fixed thickness. Results show that the optimized parameters improve the J_sc of a-Si:H solar cells to 16.52 mA/cm², yielding an initial conversion efficiency of 10.86%.     

Comparative methods for the determination of the gap state density in magnetron-sputtered hydrogenated amorphous silicon

A comparative study of three methods for determining the density of states N(E) in material with the same structure and chemical composition is presented. The three techniques are measurements of the field effect, the Schottky capacitance and conductance as a function of voltage and the Schottky capacitance and conductance versus frequency at zero bias. The difference between the N(E) deduced from a field effect measurement and those deduced from the other methods is found to be due to the technique itself and not to a difference in material properties. This difference can be greater than a decade.We also report here, for the first time, changes in the midgap density of states of hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) produced by r.f. magnetron sputtering with variation in the hydrogen pressure from 0.2 to 2.0 mTorr and for substrate temperatures between 170 and 260 °C. There is a sharp decrease in the density of states followed by a rise as the hydrogen pressure is increased. Magnetron-sputtered a-Si:H is shown to be a good quality material because of its low N(E) and its performance in devices.     

The effect of hydrogen in the mechanism of aluminum-induced crystallization of sputtered amorphous silicon using scanning Auger microanalysis

The metal-induced crystallization (MIC) of hydrogenated sputtered amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) using aluminum has been investigated using X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning Auger microanalysis (SAM). Hydrogenated, as well as non-hydrogenated, amorphous silicon (a-Si) films were sputtered on glass substrates, then capped with a thin layer of Al. Following the depositions, the samples were annealed in the temperature range 200 °C to 400 °C for varying periods of time. Crystallization of the samples was confirmed by XRD. Non-hydrogenated films started to crystallize at 350 °C. On the other hand, crystallization of the samples with the highest hydrogen (H₂) content initiated at 225 °C. Thus, the crystallization temperature is affected by the H₂ content of the a-Si. Material structure following annealing was confirmed by SAM. In this paper, a comprehensive model for MIC of a-Si is developed based on these experimental results.     

Suppression of electrical breakdown in silicon nitride films deposited by catalytic chemical vapor deposition at temperatures below 200 degrees C

Silicon nitride (SiN(x)) films for a gate dielectric layer of thin film transistors were deposited by catalytic chemical vapor deposition at a low temperature (< or = 200 degrees C). A mixture of SiH4, NH3 and H2 was used as a source gas. Metal-insulator-semiconductor (MIS) capacitor structures were fabricated for current-voltage (I-V) and capacitance-voltage (C-V) measurements. The breakdown voltage characteristics of the SiN(x) films were improved by the increase of NH3/SiH4 and H2/SiH4 mixing ratios and substrate temperatures. H2 treatment was attempted to improve the breakdown voltage further. A breakdown voltage as high as 6.6 MV/cm was obtained after H2 annealing at 180 degrees C. The defect states inside the SiN(x) films were analyzed by photoluminescence spectra. Silicon dangling bonds (2.5 eV) and nitrogen dangling bonds (3.1 eV) were observed. These defect states inside the SiN(x) films disappeared after H2 annealing. Flat band voltage shifts were observed in C-V curves, and their magnitudes decreased as the defect states inside the SiN(x) films decreased.     

High-sensitive MIS structures with silicon nanocrystals grown via solid-state dewetting of silicon-on-insulator for solar cell and photodetector applications

This work reports an original method for the fabrication of metal–insulator–semiconductor (MIS) structures with silicon nanocrystals (Si NCs)-based active layers embedded in the insulating SiO₂ oxide, for high-performance solar cell and photodetector applications. The Si NCs are produced via the in situ solid-state dewetting of ultra-pure amorphous silicon-on-insulator (a-SOI) grown by solid source molecular beam epitaxy (SSMBE). The size and density of Si NCs are precisely tuned by varying the deposited thickness of silicon. The morphological characterization carried out by using atomic force microscopy (AFM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) shows that the Si NCs have homogeneous size with well-defined spherical shape and densities up to ~?10¹² /cm² (inversely proportional to the square of nominal a-Si thickness). The structural investigations by high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM) show that the ultra-small Si NCs (with mean diameter?~?7 nm) are monocrystalline and free of structural defects. The electrical measurements performed by current versus voltage (I–V) and photocurrent spectroscopies on the Si NCs-based MIS structures prove the efficiency of Si NCs to enhance the electrical conduction in MIS structures and to increase (×?10 times) the photocurrent (i.e., at bias voltage V = ??1 V) via the photo-generation of additional electron–hole pairs in the MIS structures. These results evidence that the Si NCs obtained by the combination of MBE growth and solid-state dewetting are perfectly suitable for the development of novel high-performance optoelectronic devices compatible with the CMOS technology.

     

Similar admittance behavior of amorphous silicon carbide and nitride dielectrics within the MIS structure

PECVD grown a-SiNx:H and a-SiCx:H films were investigated as dielectric films in the form of metal/insulator/p-silicon (MIS) structures. AC admittance of MIS structures was measured as a function of dc gate bias voltages and frequencies (1-1000 kHz) of the superimposed ac bias voltage (10 mV). For each applied bias voltage (from accumulating to inverting bias regimes), temperature (T) dependence of both capacitance (C) and conductance (G/ω) were measured to investigate majority/minority carrier behavior under various frequencies ω (kHz-MHz) as parameters. C and G/ω-T-ω measurements reveal that observed pairs of capacitance steps and conductance peaks are related to traps lying on the same energy value, residing in the insulator and at the interface of insulator/semiconductor structure and differing only through capture cross-sections. On the other hand, surface band bending (ψ_s) of silicon and activation energy (E_A) deduced from the Arrhenius plot of the frequency vs. reciprocal temperature as a function of gate bias (V_G) seem linearly dependent, implying that E_A reflects the ψ_s variation.     

The photosensitivity of amorphous-crystalline silicon heterostructures with an inversion channel

We investigate the effect of the resistivity of crystalline silicon (1.5–40 kΩ cm) and amorphousfilm thickness (200–2000 Å) on the photoelectric properties of (a-Si/c-Si) heterostructures based on high-resistance p-Si. The investigated heterostructures exhibit inversion surface-band bending in crystalline silicon. The presence of a conducting channel ensures accumulation of nonequilibrium carriers upon illumination of the areas separated from the electrode by distances that exceed by far their diffusion length. The heterostructures exhibit high photosensitivity, including in the UV spectral region. The spectral characteristics of such structures in the visible and near-IR regions are analogous to those of silicon tunnel MIS structures.