Thermal stability of photovoltaic a-Si:H determined by neutron reflectometry
- Institute for Energy Technology, P.O. Box 40, NO-2027 Kjeller (Norway)
- Division for Materials Physics, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Uppsala University, Box 516, SE-751 20 Uppsala (Sweden)
- Department of Chemistry, Centre for Materials Science and Nanotechnology, University of Oslo, P.O. Box 1033, Blindern, NO-0315 Oslo (Norway)
Neutron and X-ray reflectometry were used to determine the layer structure and hydrogen content of thin films of amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) deposited onto crystalline silicon (Si) wafers for surface passivation in solar cells. The combination of these two reflectometry techniques is well suited for non-destructive probing of the structure of a-Si:H due to being able to probe buried interfaces and having sub-nanometer resolution. Neutron reflectometry is also unique in its ability to allow determination of density gradients of light elements such as hydrogen (H). The neutron scattering contrast between Si and H is strong, making it possible to determine the H concentration in the deposited a-Si:H. In order to correlate the surface passivation properties supplied by the a-Si:H thin films, as quantified by obtainable effective minority carrier lifetime, photoconductance measurements were also performed. It is shown that the minority carrier lifetime falls sharply when H has been desorbed from a-Si:H by annealing.
- OSTI ID:
- 22395465
- Journal Information:
- Applied Physics Letters, Vol. 105, Issue 23; Other Information: (c) 2014 AIP Publishing LLC; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0003-6951
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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