Surface passivation for germanium photovoltaic cells

Passivation of a germanium surface has proved to be challenging. Various materials have been examined for this purpose, like for example silicon nitride and amorphous silicon. In this work the optimisation of PECVD amorphous silicon and the influence of the preliminary surface treatment for passivat...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Solar energy materials and solar cells 2005-06, Vol.88 (1), p.37-45
Main Authors: Posthuma, N.E., Flamand, G., Geens, W., Poortmans, J.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Amorphous silicon
Applied sciences
Bulk lifetime
Energy
Exact sciences and technology
Germanium
Natural energy
Photovoltaic cells
Photovoltaic conversion
Solar cells. Photoelectrochemical cells
Solar energy
Surface passivation
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Summary:Passivation of a germanium surface has proved to be challenging. Various materials have been examined for this purpose, like for example silicon nitride and amorphous silicon. In this work the optimisation of PECVD amorphous silicon and the influence of the preliminary surface treatment for passivation purposes are described. Furthermore, experiments done to extract the surface recombination velocity and the bulk lifetime of a germanium substrate will be presented. Optimisation of the deposition parameters, in combination with a pre-deposition in situ hydrogen plasma, results in a surface recombination velocity of 17 cm/s on a lowly doped germanium substrate.
ISSN:0927-0248
1879-3398
DOI:10.1016/j.solmat.2004.10.005