Impact of solid-phase crystallization of amorphous silicon on the chemical structure of the buried Si/ZnO thin film solar cell interface
- Resource Type
- Journal Article
- Authors
- Source
- Applied Physics Letters; 97; 7; Other Information: Journal Publication Date: 16 Aug 2010
- Subject
- 14 SOLAR ENERGY
36 MATERIALS SCIENCE CRYSTALLIZATION
EMISSION SPECTROSCOPY
SILICON
SOLAR CELLS
THICKNESS
THIN FILMS
ZINC OXIDES
SOFT X RADIATION solar cell, amorphous silicon, ZnO, buried interface, x-ray emission spectroscopy
solar cell, amorphous silicon, ZnO, buried interface, x-ray emission spectroscopy
- Language
- English
- ISSN
- 0003-6951
The chemical interface structure between phosphorus-doped hydrogenated amorphous silicon and aluminum-doped zinc oxide thin films is investigated with soft x-ray emission spectroscopy (XES) before and after solid-phase crystallization (SPC) at 600C. In addition to the expected SPC-induced phase transition from amorphous to polycrystalline silicon, our XES data indicates a pronounced chemical interaction at the buried Si/ZnO interface. In particular, we find an SPC-enhanced formation of Si-O bonds and the accumulation of Zn in close proximity to the interface. For an assumed closed and homogeneous SiO2 interlayer, an effective thickness of (5+2)nm after SPC could be estimated.