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High Temperature Material Processes (An International Quarterly of High-Technology Plasma Processes)

An International Journal

ISSN for PRINT: 1093-3611

Institutional price:	$652.00
Issues per year:	4

Best Paper Award Selection - Editorial Board Site

2005, Volume9

162 pages

DOI: 10.1615/HighTempMatProc.v9.i1

HIGH-RATE SILICON NITRIDE DEPOSITION FOR PHOTOVOLTAICS: FROM FUNDAMENTALS TO INDUSTRIAL APPLICATION

W.M.M. Kessels
Dept. of Applied Physics, Eindhoven University of Technology, P.O. Box 513, 5600 MB, Eindhoven, The Netherlands

P. J. van den Oever
Dept. of Applied Physics, Eindhoven University of Technology, P.O. Box 513, 5600 MB, Eindhoven, The Netherlands

R.C.M. Bosch
OTB Engineering B.V., P.O. Box 7108, 5605 JC, Eindhoven, The Netherlands

M.D. Bijker
OTB Engineering B.V., P.O. Box 7108, 5605 JC, Eindhoven, The Netherlands

M. Evers
OTB Engineering B.V., P.O. Box 7108, 5605 JC, Eindhoven, The Netherlands

D. C. Schram
Dept. of Applied Physics, Eindhoven University of Technology, P.O. Box 513, 5600 MB, Eindhoven, The Netherlands

M.C.M. van de Sanden
Dept. of Applied Physics, Eindhoven University of Technology, P.O. Box 513, 5600 MB, Eindhoven, The Netherlands

ABSTRACT

The development of a novel plasma technique for high rate (> 1 nm/s) silicon nitride deposition for multifunctional antireflection coatings on crystalline silicon solar cells is described. The research has involved the analysis of the structural and optical properties of the silicon nitride films as obtained under different operating conditions using the N₂-SiH₄ and NH₃-SiH₄ reactant mixture. Furthermore, the fundamental plasma processes and the film growth mechanism have been studied in terms of plasma chemistry, plasma species, and their contribution to film growth. The feasibility of the application of the high-rate deposited silicon nitride as a bulk passivating antireflection coating has been proven by lab-scale experiments on multicrystalline silicon solar cells and the successful transfer of the technique into an industrial inline deposition system for high-volume production of solar cells is reported.