Abstract
The expanding thermal plasma, which is a promising technique for microcrystalline silicon (μc-Si:H) thin-film deposition because of its high growth rates over large areas, witnesses, so far, specific challenges in the deposition of device-grade μc-Si:H material. The μc-Si:H films show post-deposition oxidation, caused by an insufficient amount of (dense) amorphous tissue between the grains, resulting in low solar cell efficiencies. Atomic hydrogen, which is crucial for the formation of μc-Si:H films, is hypothesized to be responsible for this lack of amorphous tissue because of its ability to etch amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) by insertion in Si-Si bonds. Therefore, we studied the interaction of atomic H with thin a-Si:H films. Results show that etching does not compete with film growth, as etch rates are one order of magnitude lower than deposition rates. Furthermore, atomic H cannot be held responsible for the poor quality of amorphous tissue present in ETP-grown μc-Si:H, as the H up-take takes mainly place in divacancies.
Original language | English |
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Title of host publication | Program - 37th IEEE Photovoltaic Specialists Conference, PVSC 2011 |
Pages | 2987-2990 |
Number of pages | 4 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 1 Dec 2011 |
Event | 37th IEEE Photovoltaic Specialists Conference (PVSC 2011) - Seattle, United States Duration: 19 Jun 2011 → 24 Jun 2011 Conference number: 37 |
Conference
Conference | 37th IEEE Photovoltaic Specialists Conference (PVSC 2011) |
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Abbreviated title | PVSC 2011 |
Country/Territory | United States |
City | Seattle |
Period | 19/06/11 → 24/06/11 |