Process–Structure–Properties Relationships of Passivating, Electron–Selective Contacts Formed by Atmospheric Pressure Chemical Vapor Deposition of Phosphorus–Doped Polysilicon

Mousumi, Jannatul Ferdous; Gregory, Geoffrey; Ganesan, Jeya Prakash; Nunez, Christian; Provancha, Kenneth; Seren, Sven; Zunft, Heiko; Jurca, Titel; Banerjee, Parag; Kar, Aravinda; Kumar, Ranganathan; Davis, Kristopher O.

doi:10.1002/pssr.202100639

Process–Structure–Properties Relationships of Passivating, Electron–Selective Contacts Formed by Atmospheric Pressure Chemical Vapor Deposition of Phosphorus–Doped Polysilicon

Journal Article · Thu Jan 27 00:00:00 UTC 2022 · Physica Status Solidi. Rapid Research Letters

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1002/pssr.202100639· OSTI ID:2212850

^[1]; Gregory, Geoffrey ^[2]; Ganesan, Jeya Prakash ^[2]; Nunez, Christian ^[3]; Provancha, Kenneth ^[3]; Seren, Sven ^[4]; Zunft, Heiko ^[4]; Jurca, Titel ^[2]; Banerjee, Parag ^[2]; Kar, Aravinda ^[2]; Kumar, Ranganathan ^[2]; ^[2]

University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL (United States); University of Central Florida
University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL (United States)
Schmid Thermal Systems Inc., Watsonville, CA (United States)
Schmid Group R&D, Freundenstadt (Germany)

Herein, we investigate the process–structure–properties relationships of in situ phosphorus (P)-doped polycrystalline silicon (poly-Si) films by atmospheric pressure chemical vapor deposition (APCVD) for fabricating poly-Si passivating, electron selective contacts. This high-throughput in-line APCVD technique enables to achieve a low-cost, simple manufacturing process for crystalline silicon (c-Si) solar cells featuring poly-Si passivating contact by excluding the need for vacuum/plasma environment, and additional post-deposition doping steps. A thin layer of this P-doped poly-Si is deposited on an ultrathin (1.5 nm) silicon oxide (SiO _x) coated c-Si substrate to fabricate the passivating contact. This is followed by various post-deposition treatments, including a high-temperature annealing step and hydrogenation process. The poly-Si films are characterized to achieve a better understanding of the impacts of deposition process conditions and post-deposition treatments on the microstructure, electrical conductivity, passivation quality, and carrier selectivity of the contacts which assists to identify the optimal process conditions. In this work, the optimized annealing process with post-hydrogenation yields passivating contact with a saturation current density (J 0) of 3 fA cm^–2 and an implied open-circuit voltage (iV _OC) of 712 mV on planar c-Si wafer. Junction resistivity values ranging from 50 to 260 mΩ cm² are realized for the poly-Si contacts processed in the optimal annealing condition.

View Accepted Manuscript (DOE)

Research Organization:: University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Renewable Power Office. Solar Energy Technologies Office

Grant/Contract Number:: EE0008980

OSTI ID:: 2212850

Alternate ID(s):: OSTI ID: 1976389

Journal Information:: Physica Status Solidi. Rapid Research Letters, Journal Name: Physica Status Solidi. Rapid Research Letters Journal Issue: 5 Vol. 16; ISSN 1862-6254

Publisher:: WileyCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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