The effect of light soaking on crystalline silicon surface passivation by atomic layer deposited Al2O3

Baochen Liao; Rolf Stangl; Thomas Mueller; Fen Lin; Charanjit S. Bhatia; Bram Hoex

doi:10.1063/1.4775595

journal article Jan 11, 2013

The effect of light soaking on crystalline silicon surface passivation by atomic layer deposited Al2O3

Baochen Liao

Rolf Stangl Thomas Mueller

Fen Lin

Charanjit S. Bhatia Bram Hoex

Journal of Applied Physics Vol. 113 No. 2 · AIP Publishing

View at Publisher Save 10.1063/1.4775595

Abstract

The effect of light soaking of crystalline silicon wafer lifetime samples surface passivated by thermal atomic layer deposited (ALD) Al2O3 is investigated in this paper. Contrary to other passivation materials used in solar cell applications (i.e., SiO2, SiNx), using thermal ALD Al2O3, an increase in effective carrier lifetime after light soaking under standard testing conditions is observed for both p-type (∼45%) and n-type (∼60%) FZ c-Si lifetime samples. After light soaking and storing the samples in a dark and dry environment, the effective lifetime decreases again and practically returns to the value before light soaking. The rate of lifetime decrease after light soaking is significantly slower than the rate of lifetime increase by light soaking. To investigate the underlying mechanism, corona charge experiments are carried out on p-type c-Si samples before and after light soaking. The results indicate that the negative fixed charge density Qf present in the Al2O3 films increases due to the light soaking, which results in an improved field-effect passivation. Numerical calculations also confirm that the improved field-effect passivation is the main contributor for the increased effective lifetime after light soaking. To further understand the light soaking phenomenon, a kinetic model—a charge trapping/de-trapping model—is proposed to explain the time dependent behavior of the lifetime increase/decrease observed under/after light soaking. The trap model fits the experimental results very well. The observed light enhanced passivation for ALD Al2O3 passivated c-Si is of technological relevance, because solar cell devices operate under illumination, thus an increase in solar cell efficiency due to light soaking can be expected.

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Details

Published: Jan 11, 2013
Vol/Issue: 113(2)

Authors

B

Baochen Liao

National University of Singapore 1 Solar Energy Research Institute of Singapore (SERIS), , 7 Engineering Drive 1, 117574, Singapore; National University of Singapore 2 Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, , 4 Engineering Drive 3, 117576, Singapore

R

Rolf Stangl

National University of Singapore 1 Solar Energy Research Institute of Singapore (SERIS), , 7 Engineering Drive 1, 117574, Singapore

T

Thomas Mueller

National University of Singapore 1 Solar Energy Research Institute of Singapore (SERIS), , 7 Engineering Drive 1, 117574, Singapore

F

Fen Lin

National University of Singapore 1 Solar Energy Research Institute of Singapore (SERIS), , 7 Engineering Drive 1, 117574, Singapore

C

Charanjit S. Bhatia

National University of Singapore 1 Solar Energy Research Institute of Singapore (SERIS), , 7 Engineering Drive 1, 117574, Singapore; National University of Singapore 2 Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, , 4 Engineering Drive 3, 117576, Singapore

B

Bram Hoex

National University of Singapore 1 Solar Energy Research Institute of Singapore (SERIS), , 7 Engineering Drive 1, 117574, Singapore

Cite This Article

Baochen Liao, Rolf Stangl, Thomas Mueller, et al. (2013). The effect of light soaking on crystalline silicon surface passivation by atomic layer deposited Al2O3. Journal of Applied Physics, 113(2). https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4775595

The effect of light soaking on crystalline silicon surface passivation by atomic layer deposited Al2O3

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