scholarly journals Fabrication of Large-Grain Thick Polycrystalline Silicon Thin Films via Aluminum-Induced Crystallization for Application in Solar Cells

2013 ◽  
Vol 2013 ◽  
pp. 1-4
Author(s):  
Hsiao-Yeh Chu ◽  
Min-Hang Weng ◽  
Chen Lin
Keyword(s):  
Solar Cells ◽  
Polycrystalline Silicon ◽  
X Ray Diffraction ◽  
X Ray ◽  
Second Stage ◽  
Silicon Thin Films ◽  
Si Films ◽  
Two Stages ◽  
Induced Crystallization ◽  
Aluminum Induced Crystallization

The fabrication of large-grain 1.25 μm thick polycrystalline silicon (poly-Si) films via two-stage aluminum-induced crystallization (AIC) for application in thin-film solar cells is reported. The induced 250 nm thick poly-Si film in the first stage is used as the seed layer for the crystallization of a 1 μm thick amorphous silicon (a-Si) film in the second stage. The annealing temperatures in the two stages are both 500°C. The effect of annealing time (15, 30, 60, and 120 minutes) in the second stage on the crystallization of a-Si film is investigated using X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy, and Raman spectroscopy. XRD and Raman results confirm that the induced poly-Si films are induced by the proposed process.

Thickness-Dependent Micro-Raman Measurement of Poly-Si Films Prepared by Metal-Induced-Crystallization using a Ni Layer

2000 ◽  
Vol 609 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shin-ichi Muramatsu ◽  
Yasushi Minagawa ◽  
Fumihito Oka ◽  
Yoshiaki Yazawa
Keyword(s):  
Amorphous Silicon ◽  
Cross Section ◽  
Polycrystalline Silicon ◽  
X Ray Diffraction ◽  
X Ray ◽  
Metal Induced Crystallization ◽  
Raman Measurement ◽  
Si Films ◽  
Induced Crystallization ◽  
Uniform Composition

ABSTRACTRelatively thick amorphous silicon films for solar-cell applications were prepared by metal-induced-crystallization (MIC). Then, the thickness-dependent characteristics of micro-Raman spectra from a cross section of the prepared polycrystalline silicon (poly-Si) films were analyzed. It was found that Ni-induced crystallized films have a uniform composition that is 80% polycrystalline and 20% nanocrystalline. Also, the x-ray diffraction data show that a sub-mono-layer of Ni is sufficient for MIC of 6-μm-thick amorphous silicon (a-Si) films.

Thin-Film Polycrystalline-Silicon Solar Cells on Ceramic Substrates Made by Aluminum-Induced Crystallization and Thermal CVD

2006 ◽  
Vol 910 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ivan Gordon ◽  
Dries Van Gestel ◽  
Lode Carnel ◽  
Kris Van Nieuwenhuysen ◽  
Guy Beaucarne ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Solar Cells ◽  
Polycrystalline Silicon ◽  
Substrate Roughness ◽  
Ceramic Substrates ◽  
Thermal Cvd ◽  
Si Solar Cells ◽  
Thin Polycrystalline ◽  
Induced Crystallization ◽  
Aluminum Induced Crystallization

AbstractA considerable cost reduction could be achieved in photovoltaics if efficient solar cells could be made from thin polycrystalline-silicon (pc-Si) layers. Aluminum-induced crystallization (AIC) of amorphous silicon followed by epitaxial thickening is an effective way to obtain large-grained pc-Si layers with excellent properties for solar cells. To obtain efficient solar cells, the electronic quality of the pc-Si material obtained by AIC has to be optimized and the cell design has to be adapted to the material. In this paper, we report on pc-Si solar cells made by AIC in combination with thermal CVD on ceramic alumina substrates. We made pc-Si solar cells on alumina substrates that showed Voc values up to 533 mV and efficiencies up to 5.9%. This is the highest efficiency ever achieved with pc-Si solar cells on ceramic substrates where no (re)melting of silicon was used. We demonstrate that the quality of the pc-Si material can be improved drastically by reducing the substrate roughness using spin-on oxides. We further show that a-Si/c-Si heterojunctions lead to much higher Voc values than diffused homojunctions. A cell concept that incorporates spin-on oxides and heterojunction emitters is therefore best suited to obtain efficient pc-Si solar cells on alumina substrates.

The effect of substrate temperature and interface oxide layer on aluminum induced crystallization of sputtered amorphous silicon

2004 ◽  
Vol 808 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maruf Hossain ◽  
Husam Abu-Safe ◽  
Marwan Barghouti ◽  
Hameed Naseem ◽  
William D. Brown
Keyword(s):  
Substrate Temperature ◽  
Amorphous Silicon ◽  
Oxide Layer ◽  
Environmental Scanning ◽  
X Ray ◽  
Layer Sequence ◽  
Si Films ◽  
Induced Crystallization ◽  
Al Oxide ◽  
Aluminum Induced Crystallization

ABSTRACTThe effect of substrate temperature and interface oxide layer on aluminum induced crystallization (AIC) of amorphous silicon (a-Si) is investigated. The effect of substrate temperature on the AIC process was studied by changing the deposition temperate of a-Si from 200 to 300°C in a Al/a-Si/glass configuration. To study the effect of interface oxide on AIC, samples with a-Si/Al/glass, a-Si/Al-oxide/Al/glass, and Al/Si-oxide/a-Si/glass configurations were prepared at a fixed substrate temperature. The samples were annealed in the temperature range from 300°C to 525°C for different periods of time. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns confirmed the crystallization of the a-Si films in the various configurations. From the analysis, we report that crystallization of a-Si happen at 350°C annealing temperature in the Al/a-Si/glass configuration. However, with or without the presence of Si-oxide at the interface, crystallization saturated after annealing for 20 minutes at 400°C. On the other hand, when Al-oxide is present at the interface, higher annealing temperatures and longer annealing times are required to saturate the crystallization of a-Si. Environmental Scanning Electron Microscope (ESEM) and Energy Dispersive X-Ray (EDX) mapping were used to study the surface morphology as well as the layer sequence after crystallization. This analysis revealed that Si-Al layer-exchange happens regardless of the deposited film configuration.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document