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‘Seed Layers’ for the Preparation of Hydrogenated Microcrystalline Silicon with Defined Structural Properties on Glass

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 February 2011

Christoph Ross ,
Yaohua Mai ,
Reinhard Carius  and
Friedhelm Finger
Christoph Ross
Affiliation:
Institut für Photovoltaik (IPV), Forschungszentrum Jülich, D-52425 Jülich, Germany
Yaohua Mai
Affiliation:
Institut für Photovoltaik (IPV), Forschungszentrum Jülich, D-52425 Jülich, Germany
Reinhard Carius
Affiliation:
Institut für Photovoltaik (IPV), Forschungszentrum Jülich, D-52425 Jülich, Germany
Friedhelm Finger
Affiliation:
Institut für Photovoltaik (IPV), Forschungszentrum Jülich, D-52425 Jülich, Germany
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Abstract

Microcrystalline silicon with properties relevant to highly efficient solar cells can be suc-cessfully prepared on glass for material characterization if a thin intrinsic ‘seed layer’ coating of the substrate is used. This is demonstrated by a detailed structure analysis on the base of Raman spectroscopy and photothermal deflection spectroscopy. The coating turns out to be crucial (1) for achieving a crystalline content as high as that of solar cell absorber material, (2) for creating a homogeneous structure in growth direction, and (3) for extending the range of deposition pa-rameters which lead to films with high crystallinity towards the regime of amorphous growth. Regarding electrical transport, ‘seed layer’ assisted growth results in a structure dependence of the dark conductivity which is very similar to that of material grown on bare glass. Regarding optical absorption spectra, residual interference fringes, which indicate structure non-uniformities, are clearly suppressed by means of ‘seed layers’. It is concluded that appropriate ‘seed layers’ play an important role for a comprehensive characterization and development of microcrystalline silicon layers for thin film devices.

Type
Research Article
Information
MRS Online Proceedings Library (OPL) , Volume 862: Symposium A – Amorphous and Nanocrystalline Silicon Science and Technology–2005 , 2005 , A10.4
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2005

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