Surface passivation properties of boron-doped plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposited hydrogenated amorphous silicon films on p-type crystalline Si substrates

De Wolf, Stefaan; Beaucarne, Guy

doi:doi:10.1063/1.2164902

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Optical study of hot electron transport in GaN: Signatures of the hot-phonon effect

The hot-phonon lifetime in GaN is measured by temperature- and electric field-dependent photoluminescence studies of a n-type channel. The rate of increase of electron temperature with the external electric field provides a signature of nonquilibrium hot-phonon accumulation. Hot-electron temperatures are measured directly as a function of applied electric fields, and by comparing theoretical models for electron energy-loss into acoustic and optical phonons, a hot-phonon lifetime of τph = 3 to 4...

From K atom pairs to K atomic chains: A semiconducting 2×3 to metallic 2×1 transition on the β-SiC(100) c(4×2) surface

We study the K/β-SiC(100) c(4×2) surface by atom-resolved scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy, and synchrotron radiation-based photoemission spectroscopy. At intermediate coverages, the K atoms are grouped by pairs around Si dimers at pedestal sites, in a 2×3 long-range ordering leaving 1/3 of the pedestal sites unoccupied, while keeping the semiconducting c(4×2) surface unchanged as identified by tunneling through the K overlayer. At saturation, additional K atoms adsorb on remainin...

Heterostructures, such as the crystalline silicon (c-Si)/plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposited (PECVD) hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) structure, form a possibility in the development of a low recombination rear contact for photovoltaic devices fabricated from p-type c-Si(p) substrates. To find a good compromise between limited charge carrier recombination at the surface and a limited resistivity of the contact, a sandwich structure, such as c-Si(p)/a-Si:H(i)/a-Si:H(p⁺) has been proposed in the past. However, in this letter, we report that whereas a very thin intrinsic a-Si:H layer ( ∼ 3 nm) may still yield very low values for the surface recombination velocity of low resistivity (0.5–1.5 Ω cm) c-Si(p) wafers, the surface passivation properties are lost when this intrinsic film is subsequently covered by a PECVD a-Si:H(p⁺) layer. This phenomenon suggests that surface recombination does not take place at the c-Si(p)/a-Si:H(i) interface, but more likely in the defect-rich PECVD a-Si:H(p⁺) material, by tunneling of minority carriers through the thin a-Si:H(i) layer.

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KEYWORDS and PACS

Keywords

silicon, hydrogen, boron, elemental semiconductors, amorphous semiconductors, passivation, semiconductor doping, plasma CVD, semiconductor thin films, semiconductor growth, semiconductor heterojunctions, sandwich structures, surface recombination, contact resistance, electrical resistivity, tunnelling

PACS

81.05.Gc

Amorphous semiconductors
81.05.Cy

Elemental semiconductors
73.61.Cw

Elemental semiconductors
81.65.Rv

Passivation
61.72.uf

Ge and Si
81.15.Gh

Chemical vapor deposition (including plasma-enhanced CVD, MOCVD, ALD, etc.)

ARTICLE DATA

Digital Object Identifier

http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.2164902

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0003-6951 (print)

1077-3118 (online)

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American Institute of Physics

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