A series of hydrogenated amorphous silicon carbide (a-Si1-xCx:H) films (0 < x ≤ 1) were grown by using an organic source, xylene (C8H10), instead of methane (CH4) in a conventional plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition system. The optical band gap of these samples was altered over a wide range by changing the gas ratio of C8H10 to SiH4, the maximum value can be reached as high as 3.6eV. Photoluminescence (PL) measurements were carried out at room temperature by using a Xe lamp as an excitation light. It was found that the PL peak is blue shifted with increasing optical band gap. The xylene-based a-SiC:H electro-luminescence (EL) device structure was also fabricated and room temperature EL behavior was investigated. It was found that the EL peak depended on the band gap of a-C:H films and a stable emission can be obtained by using the suitable structure parameters.
P-type hydrogenated amorphous silicon films were deposited on float glass substrates by plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD). The effect of B doping concentration on the properties of the films was studied. The structure of the films was investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD). The transmittance of the films was measured using an UV–Vis–NIR spectrophotometer in the wavelength range 200–2600nm.The film thickness was fitted by NKD-7000W optical thin film analysis system. The optical band gap of the films was obtained by the Tauc method. The conductivity of the films was tested by Electrometer Keithley 6517B. The results show that the optical band gap of the films changes from 1.93 eV to 1.65eV with the increase of B doping concentration, the highest conductivity of the film doped with 1.86% B2H6is 7.82 × 10-4S/cm.
AbstractThe fluorinated amorphous and microcrystalline silicon (a,μc-Si:H;F) films have been prepared by rf plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) with SiH 4 and SiF 4 gas mixtures. The stretching Si-O (1085 cm-1) and SiH2 (2100 cm-1) bands estimated from infrared (IR) spectroscope data have related to the evolution of crystallinity and the optical band gap was shifted by introducing Si-O bonds. The sub-band gap absorption coefficient in a,μc-Si:H;F films was about one order lower than that in hydrogenated amorphous silicon film (a-Si:H). The subband gap absorption in a-Si:H;F film was comparable to that in tic-Si:H;F films. The lightinduced degradation of a,μc-Si:H;F films were also suppressed.
Boron-doped hydrogenated amorphous silicon carbide (a-SiC:H) thin films are deposited using high frequency 27.12 MHz plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition system as a window layer of silicon heterojunction (SHJ) solar cells. The CH4 gas flow rate is varied to deposit various a-SiC:H films, and the optical and electrical properties are investigated. The experimental results show that at the CH4 flow rate of 40 sccm the a-SiC:H has a high band gap of 2.1 eV and reduced absorption coefficients in the whole wavelength region, but the electrical conductivity deteriorates. The technology computer aided design simulation for SHJ devices reveal the band discontinuity at i/p interface when the a-SiC:H films are used. For fabricated SHJ solar cell performance, the highest conversion efficiency of 22.14%, which is 0.33% abs higher than that of conventional hydrogenated amorphous silicon window layer, can be obtained when the intermediate band gap (2 eV) a-SiC:H window layer is used.
Erratum: “Dielectric function of hydrogenated amorphous silicon near the optical absorption edge” [J. Appl. Phys. 106, 073110 (2009)]