National Renewable Energy Laboratory 

Innovation for Our Energy Future 

A national laboratory of the U.S. Department of Energy

Office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy

NREL is operated by Midwest Research Institute ● Battelle Contract No. DE-AC36-99-GO10337 

High Efficiency and High Rate 

Deposited Amorphous SiliconBased Solar Cells 

Final Technical Report 

1 September 2001 – 6 March 2005 

X. Deng 

University of Toledo 

Toledo, Ohio 

Subcontract Report 

NREL/SR-520-39091 

January 2006 
High Efficiency and High Rate 

Deposited Amorphous SiliconBased Solar Cells 

Final Technical Report 

1 September 2001 – 6 March 2005 

X. Deng 

University of Toledo 

Toledo, Ohio 

NREL Technical Monitor: Bolko von Roedern 

Prepared under Subcontract No. NDJ-2-30630-08 

Subcontract Report 

NREL/SR-520-39091 

January 2006 

National Renewable Energy Laboratory 

1617 Cole Boulevard, Golden, Colorado 80401-3393 

303-275-3000 • www.nrel.gov 

Operated for the U.S. Department of Energy 

Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy 

by Midwest Research Institute • Battelle 

Contract No. DE-AC36-99-GO10337
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Summary

This final technical report covers the highlights of the research activities and results on the 

project of “High Efficiency and High-Rate Deposited Amorphous Silicon-Based Solar Cells” at 

the University of Toledo for the Period of September 1, 2001 to March 6, 2005, under NREL 

Subcontract No. NDJ-2- 30630-08. 

Project Objective: 

The objectives of this project are: (1) to establish a transferable knowledge and technology base 

for the fabrication of high-efficiency triple-junction a-Si-based solar cells, and (2) to develop 

high-rate deposition techniques for the growth of a-Si-based and related alloys including poly-Si, 

μc-Si, a-SiGe and a-Si films and photovoltaic devices with these materials. 

Approaches/Tasks: 

The approaches and tasks toward the project objectives are outlined as follows: 

1) Developing a “grand phase diagram” of deposition conditions for the growth of 

protocrystalline silicon and protocrystalline silicon germanium alloys and use these 

materials for the fabrication of top, middle, and bottom component cells of spectrumsplitting triple-junction solar cells; 

2) Exploring the deposition of a-Si-based materials using new chemical precursors including 

trisilane; 

3) Studying the impact of mismatch of band edges at the interfaces on the solar cell I-V 

characteristics and the physics of buffer layers; 

4) Combining these improvements made in component cells and fabricating triple cells with 

high stable, total-area efficiency; 

5) Developing a technique to measure component cell I-V performance in a two-terminal triple 

stack; 

6) Performing AMPS modeling on triple cells and comparing the modeling results with the 

actual fabricated triple-cell devices; 

7) Fabricating poly-Si, μc-Si, a-SiGe and a-Si at high rates using a newly developed hot-wire 

system that employs a coiled filament design with multiple gas inlets allowing us to inject 

gases with and without going through the coiled filament; and depositing a-SiGe and a-Si at 

high rates using VHF plasma. 

 

iii
Accomplishments and Results: 

Major accomplishments and results for this project include the following:

Phase I (Sept. 01, 2001 – Aug. 31, 2002): 

1) We have studied the phase diagram for a-Si deposition for different hydrogen dilution R and 

substrate temperature Ts and found that the transition from amorphous to microcrystalline 

occurs with lower hydrogen dilution R at Ts ~ 200 °C. At higher and lower Ts, higher R is 

needed to deposit microcrystalline silicon films. 

2) We have installed trisilane gas for deposition of a-Si based materials. 

3) We have studied extensively two interfaces: a) the p-i interface and b) the p+-n+ interface at 

the tunnel junctions. We have found that the p-layer optimized for a-Si top cell causes severe 

J-V roll-over when it is used for narrow bandgap a-SiGe alloys. It was concluded that the 

band mismatch at the p-i interface prevents holes from being collected at the p-layer under a 

forward bias near Voc point (when the field is weakened). We have also studied p+

-n+

interface at the tunnel junction. 

4) We have fabricated triple-junction solar cells to improve efficiency of triple-junction solar 

cells. Many of these solar cells show initial, active-area efficiency exceeding 12% and 

stabilized efficiency around 10.5-11%. 

5) We have established a procedure that is expected to allow us to measure the J-V of 

component cells in a triple-junction stack. 

6) We have performed modeling work in conjunction with the fabrication of triple cells. We 

have also performed modeling research on single-junction solar cells to study the interface 

behavior. 

7) We have conducted extensive research using a hot-wire CVD process. a-Si films was 

deposited at a deposition rate up to 240 Å/s. These films show a low microstructure R*. 

Unfortunately, a-Si films deposited at a low Ts and without H dilution, at a rate up to 800 

Å/s, are porous. 

Phase II (Sept. 01, 2002 – Aug. 31, 2003): 

1) We studied the phase diagram for a-Si deposition for different H2 dilution and substrate 

temperature Ts. In order to be able to cover a broader parameter space within a limited time, 

we designed and installed a load lock chamber that allows us to load in simultaneously a set 

of ten 4”x4” masks with different patterns of coverage for the deposition. In this way, we 

could explore a large set of parameters in a single vacuum pump down. We have also 

studied the deposition of protocrystalline Si and SiGe using RF PECVD and HWCVD 

during this program period. 

iv
2) We have performed a systematic study of Si:H deposition using Si3H8 and Si2H6 In this 

study, Si:H films and solar cells deposited using Si3H8 and using Si2H6 have been compared. 

At the same hydrogen dilution, Si3H8 leads to higher deposition rate. However, at the same 

atomic ratio of hydrogen and silicon, the deposition rate of Si:H using Si3H8 and Si2H6 is 

approximately the same. The deposition rate is more influenced by the ratio of the total 

number of Si atoms to hydrogen atoms introduced into the chamber rather than the number 

of Si-containing molecules. Measurement of activation energy, microstructure and 

photosensitivity indicate that a) the transition from amorphous to amorphous/nanocrystalline 

mixed phase occurs at a higher H2 dilution level when Si3H8 is used; and b) the transition 

from amorphous to mixed phase is more gradual for Si3H8 as compared with Si2H6. This 

suggests that the window of parameter space for deposition of high-quality protocrystalline 

silicon may be wider when Si3H8 is used as compared with Si2H6 and SiH4. 

3) We have studied nanometer-sized p-layer that forms a desirable hetero-interface with the 

intrinsic absorber layer and yet has minimal optical absorption. A multiple-sublayer 

approach is used to meet these two requirements simultaneously. Using such a multiplesublayered nanometer-sized p-layer, we achieved single-junction a-SiGe solar cells with 

initial efficiency approximately 12.5% and stabilized efficiency of 10.5% (not yet 

independently confirmed). A US utility patent application was filed for the p-layer concept. 

In addition, we have designed and partially completed the installation of a 5-chamber 

addition to UT’s existing four-chamber PECVD/HWCVD systems. Four of the five 

chambers are used for the sputter deposition of metal (Al, Ag, etc), ZnO, ITO, SiO2 layers 

and the fifth one is a new load-lock chamber capable of simultaneously loading 10 

substrates, masks, or combinations of substrates and masks. This system allows us to 

complete the entire 12 layers of a triple-junction solar cell, Al/ZnO/nip/nip/nip/ITO in a 

single vacuum pump down, thus avoiding the undesirable air exposure at some of the critical 

interfaces. The ability to control the air exposure at these interfaces could lead us to 

understand and analyze the optical and electrical losses at these interfaces such as ZnO/n and 

p-ITO interfaces. The design and the process optimization of these five new chambers is 

supported by this NREL-funded project while the acquisition of components and the 

installation are supported by a complementary project funded by Air Force Research Lab. 

4) Activities in this task area is mostly focused on 1) the optimization of top component cell, as 

summarized in Section 3; 2) the optimization of the sputter deposition of ITO, Al, ZnO in 

one of the new sputter deposition chambers; 3) the generation of metal fingers using 

lithography; and 4) deposition of triple-junction a-Si based solar cells. We fabricated wide 

band gap a-Si top cells with 11.1% initial efficiency and top cells with Voc = 1.023V and FF 

= 0.78 using improved intrinsic and doped layers. We maintained our baseline deposition of 

triple-junction solar cells with initial active-area efficiency >12%. 

5) We developed the methodology for measuring component cell I-V characteristics in a twoterminal tandem and triple-junction stack. 

6) We started using Advanced Semiconductor Analysis (ASA) program developed by Delft 

University to complement our modeling work using AMPS. 

v
7) Under this task area, we continued our study of the deposition of Si:H materials using 

HWCVD and VHF PECVD. In the HWCVD area, we studied the effect of the Si:H growth 

on different filament geometry. We also studied SiGe:H materials with different Ge content 

in the film and the deposition of amorphous and nanocrystalline SiGe:H alloys using 

different amounts of hydrogen dilution. In the VHF PECVD area, new matching box was 

installed. The modification of hardware allows us to incorporate more power into the plasma 

and leads to higher deposition rate. Study of the deposition uniformity was also carried out. 

It was found that the film uniformity is the highest when the chamber pressure was kept near 

0.35 Torr in our deposition system. 

In addition, in collaboration with Syracuse University, we completed a comprehensive review 

chapter, “Amorphous Silicon Related Solar Cells”, in Handbook of Photovoltaic Engineering, 

ed. A. Luque & S. Hegedus, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. , June 2003. This 60+-page chapter 

reviews the science and technology related to a-Si:H photovoltaics. 

Phase III (Sept. 01, 2003 – March 06, 2005): 

1) We have achieved: a). a-SiGe single-junction solar cells with >12.5% initial, active-area 

efficiency; b). a-Si/a-SiGe tandem-junction solar cells with >12.5% initial, active-area 

efficiency; c). a-Si/a-SiGe/a-SiGe triple-junction solar cells with >12.5% initial, active-area 

efficiency. 

2) We have completed the construction of a five-chamber addition to UT’s four-chamber solar 

cell deposition system. Among the five new chambers, four are for the sputter deposition of 

Ag(Al), ZnO, ITO and other non standard materials. The load lock chamber has an 

“elevator” that allows the use of ten substrates/masks with one pump down. The substrates 

and masks could be changed in situ without breaking the system vacuum. The deposition of 

back reflector layers (Al/ZnO and Ag/ZnO) and top conducting electrode (ITO) have been 

optimized. Triple-junction solar cells using this new 9-chamber deposition system have been 

fabricated on a routine basis. 

3) We have studied VHF deposition of a-Si and nc-Si at high rate. Investigated deposition 

conditions that lead to uniform deposition at high rate. Fabricated nc-Si based singlejunction solar cells. 

4) We have performed High Resolution TEM study of p-layer materials that lead to high Voc 

a-Si solar cells. Concluded that the p-layer that leads to high Voc contains nc-Si particles, 

about 2nm to 3nm in size, imbedded in a-Si matrix. It is further concluded that the mixed 

phase p-layer with a higher volume fraction of nc-Si:H phase, within the range studied, leads 

to a higher Voc. The optimum p-layer material for nip-type a-Si:H solar cells is neither at the 

onset of the transition between amorphous to (amorphous and nanocrystalline) mixed phase 

nor a nanocrystalline/microcrystalline material with a high volume fraction of crystalline 

phase. Optical transmission measurements show that the nc-Si p-layer has a wide bandgap of 

1.96 eV, due to the quantum confinement effects (QCE). Using this kind of p-layer in n-i-p 

a-Si:H solar cells, the cell performances were improved with a Voc of 1.042 V, while the 

vi
solar cell deposited under a similar condition but incorporating a hydrogenated 

microcrystalline silicon (μc-Si:H) p-layer leads to a Voc of 0.526 V. 

5) We have modeled and simulated triple-junction a-Si solar cells using the Advanced 

Semiconductor Analysis (ASA). The device performance is analyzed with numerically 

simulated I-V characteristics. We have studied several failure scenarios such as variations in 

the thickness of different layers of the multilayered triple-junction structure. Distinctive 

features of the I-V characteristics and solar parameters have been found which have been 

correlated and discussed with the basis of device physics. 

6) We have developed a light-assisted electrochemical shunt passivation process with improved 

effectiveness in removing shunts and shorts in a-Si. A patent application was filed in US 

Patent and Trade Mark office. 

7) We have employed the novel technique developed at UT to measure the component cell 

current-voltage characteristics in a multiple-junction stack. Demonstrated the I-V 

measurement of component cells in tandem-junction solar cells. 

8) We have fabricated prototype minimodules (4”x4” and 4”x8” sizes) using a-SiGe based 

solar cells. The minimodules are encapsulated with silicone elastomer. 

vii
Table of Contents 

Summary .................................................................................................................................................................... iii

Table of Contents..................................................................................................................................................... viii

List of Figures .............................................................................................................................................................ix

List of Tables............................................................................................................................................................. xii

1 Introduction........................................................................................................................................................1

2 Triple-Junction a-Si Solar Cells with Heavily Doped Thin Interface Layers at the Tunnel Junctions......5

3 High-Efficiency Single-junction a-SiGe Solar Cells ......................................................................................11

4 Optimization of High-efficiency a-Si Top Cell...............................................................................................17

5 Raman and IR study of narrow bandgap a-SiGe and μc-SiGe films deposited using different hydrogen 

dilution........................................................................................................................................................................20

6 Phase Diagram for Deposition of Amorphous and Microcrystalline Silicon ..............................................27

7 High Rate Deposition of Amorphous Silicon Films Using Hot-Wire CVD with Coil-Shaped Filament...34

8 Deposition of a-SiGe:H and nc-SiGe:H Films Using HWCVD ....................................................................40

9 Amorphous Silicon Deposited Using Trisilane as Precursor........................................................................48

10 Fine-Grained Nanocrystalline Silicon p-Layer for High-Voc a-Si:H Solar Cells ........................................58

11 Hydrogenated Nanocrystalline Silicon p-Layer in a-Si:H n-i-p Solar Cells...............................................63

12 Modeling of Triple Junction a-Si Solar Cells Using ASA: Analysis of Device Performance under 

Various Failure Scenarios.........................................................................................................................................69

13 Measurement of Component-Cell Current-Voltage Characteristics in a Tandem-Junction TwoTerminal Solar Cell ...................................................................................................................................................73

14 Amorphous Silicon Based Minimodules with Silicone Elastomer Encapsulation ......................................81

15 Expansion of UT’s Fabrication Capability for Triple-Junction Amorphous Silicon Based Solar Cells ..84

viii
List of Figures 

Fig. 2-1: IV curve of a UT fabricated triple cell, showing 12.7% initial, active-area efficiency...................................8

Fig. 2-2: Quantum efficiency curve of 12.7% cell (GD585) showing the QE for top, middle and bottom cells. The 

figure also shows the short circuit current under UT simulator and AM1.5 spectrum. .........................................8

Fig. 2-3: IV curve of GD585 measured at NREL, showing 11.8% initial, total-area efficiency. ..................................9

Fig. 2-4: I-V curve of a triple cell showing 10.7% stable efficiency ...........................................................................10

Fig. 3-1: Schematic of the device showing the p-layer with sublayers deposited at different temperature. ................12

Fig. 3-2: J-V curves of a-SiGe cell (GD904-2.32) measured before and after light soaking for 100 and 3300 hours, 

showing 10.47% stable, active-area efficiency....................................................................................................14

Fig. 3-3: J-V curve of a single-junction a-SiGe solar cell with initial, active-area efficiency of around 13%. ..........15

Fig. 4-1: An optimized top cell deposited on Ag/ZnO back reflector, showing 11.1% initial, active-area efficiency.18

Fig. 4-2: J-V curve of an improved a-Si solar cell showing 1.023 V open circuit voltage and 78% fill factor. The 

current is such that it is ideal for use as the top cell of a triple cell. ....................................................................19

Fig. 5-1(a): FTIR absorption spectra of a-SiGe:H films in the range from 400 to 800 cm-1. The IR spectra were taken 

from the samples deposited under H-dilution RH = 1.7 (GD419), 10 (GD420), 30 (GD422), 50 (GD423), 120 

(GD424), 180 (GD449) and 240 (GD450), respectively .....................................................................................21

Fig. 5-1(b): FTIR absorption spectra of a-SiGe:H films in the range from 1800 to 2200 cm-1 . The IR spectra were 

taken from the same samples as in Fig. 5-1(a).....................................................................................................22

Fig. 5-2: The relative intensity I2090 and hydrogen content CH of a-SiGe:H samples as a function of H-dilution RH .23

Fig. 5-3: Raman spectra of high H-dilution a-SiGe:H samples, with RH=120 (GD424), 180 (GD449) and 240 

(GD450), respectively. The Raman spectra were taken from the front surface of the samples, except GD450R, 

which was taken from the back side of sample GD450 through the glass substrate............................................24

Fig. 6-1: Calibration of actual substrate temperature from the reading temperature for UT’s PECVD deposition 

system. .................................................................................................................................................................28

Fig. 6-2: Voc of nip solar cells as a function of hydrogen dilution for different substrate temperatures.....................31

Fig. 6-3: Contour plot of the Voc as a function of substrate temperature and H dilution............................................31

Fig. 6-4: Phase diagram for the a-Si and microcrystalline growth in Ts-R plot. .........................................................32

Fig. 7-1: Schematic diagram of the Hot Wire CVD deposition chamber. ...................................................................35

Fig. 8-1: Dependence of the deposition rate rdep on the filament temperature Tfil and the substrate Temperature Tsub at 

a Si2H6 flow rate FSi2H6 = 3.4 sccm, GeH4 flow rate FGeH4 = 1.7 sccm, H2 flow rate FH2 = 7.0 sccm, a total 

process pressure p = 3.1 mtorr.............................................................................................................................42

Fig. 8-2: Top-view SEM images of SiGe samples deposited at a Si2H6 flow rate FSi2H6 = 3.4 sccm, GeH4 flow rate 

FGeH4 = 1.7 sccm, H2 flow rate FH2 = 7.0 sccm, a total process pressure p = 3.1 mtorr using a) Tfil =1800 °C and 

Tsub = 200°C, b) Tfil =1800 °C and Tsub = 300°C, c) Tfil =2000 °C and Tsub = 200°C, and d) Tfil =2000 °C and 

Tsub = 300°C.........................................................................................................................................................43

Fig. 8-3: Raman spectra of SiGe and Ge films deposited with different Tfil, Tsub and gas mixtures............................44

ix
Fig. 8-4: The GID X-ray spectrum of the SiGe film deposited at FSi2H6 = 3.4 sccm, FGeH4 = 1.7 sccm, FH2 = 7.0 sccm, 

p = 2.5 mTorr, Tsub = 200 °C and Tfil = 1800°C for 10 min with a film thickness of d = 141 nm. ......................45

Fig. 8-5: Raman and FTIR spectra of SiGe films deposited at FSi2H6=3.4 sccm, FGeH4=1.7 sccm, FH2=7.0 sccm, p=3.1 

mTorr, Tsub = 200 °C and Tfil = 1800°C for 15 min using filament Type S........................................................46

Fig. 9-1: Deposition rates of intrinsic a-Si:H film deposited under the conditions of RF power =25mW/cm2 and 

Ts=150oC. Square symbols represent Si2H6 series and diamond symbols represent Si3H8 series; The solid 

triangles represent the relationship between deposition rates and Ra=[H]/[Si] for Si3H8 series. .........................51

Fig. 9-2: Raman spectra of the series of sample deposited using Si3H8 (2a) and Si2H6 (2b). In Fig. 9-2a, curves from 

bottom to top are for Si:H deposited with R=143, 179, 213, and 286. In Fig. 9-2b, curves from bottom to top 

are for a-Si:H deposited with R=75; 100; 125; and 150. .....................................................................................52

Fig. 9-3: Activation energy of a-Si:H films made using Si2H6 and Si3H8 as a function of hydrogen dilution R.........53

Fig. 9-4: Microstructure factor R* as a function of hydrogen dilution R. ...................................................................54

Fig. 9-5: H content estimated from FTIR spectra as a function of H2 dilution R. .......................................................55

Fig. 9-6: Photosensitivity of a-Si:H films deposited using Si2H6 and Si3H8 as a function of hydrogen dilution. ........55

Fig. 9-7: Open circuit voltage versus H2 dilution for Si2H6 and Si3H8 devices............................................................56

Fig.10-1: The Raman spectra taken from (a) the front side surface and (b)the back side of the p-layer through the 

glass substrate......................................................................................................................................................60

Fig. 10-2: a) and b) are HAADF and SAED images of the Sample A with a seed layer between the p-and i-layer; c) 

and d) are HAADF and NED images of the Sample B which has a slightly less Voc.........................................61

Fig. 11-1: Raman spectra of the μc-Si:H p-layer (Curve a) and the nc-Si:H p-layer samples taken from the front 

surface (Curve b) and the back surface (Curve c) th............................................................................................66

Fig. 11-2: TEM micrographs of a thin nc-Si:H p-layer of 30 nm thick with a hybrid, stacked structure. (a) HAADF 

image, where bright dots represent nanocrystalline particles; in the insert is a SAED image, showing the 

diffraction pattern with crystalline features; (b) HREM image, exhibiting the lattice image; (c) Nano electron 

diffraction (NED) taken from one of the bright dots indicating the crystalline nature of the particle. ................67

Fig. 11-3: I-V characteristics of n-i-p a-Si:H solar cells on SS coated with Al/ZnO using the nc-Si:H p-layer (Curve 

a) or μc-Si:H p-layer into the cell (Curve b ).......................................................................................................67

Fig. 12-1: Schematic diagram of the modeled triple junction solar cell. .....................................................................70

Fig. 12-2: ASA generated I-V characteristics of the standard triple junction solar cell (Normal case) and cases 

designated in Table 1 as A1, A2, B1, B2, C1, C2, D1, D2, E1, E2, F1, and F2..................................................72

Fig. 13-1: Relationship between Voc and Isc of single junction top cell under intensity variation of different 

wavelength of monochromatic light. ...................................................................................................................75

Fig. 13-2: Relationship between Voc and Isc of single junction bottom cell under intensity variation of different 

wavelength of monochromatic light. ...................................................................................................................76

Fig. 13-3: Quantum efficiency curves of a tandem-junction a-Si/a-SiGe solar cell used in this study to illustrate the 

method. ................................................................................................................................................................76

x
Fig. 13-4: Relationship between Voc and Isc of top component cell in a tandem cell under variation of 400 nm light 

intensity. ..............................................................................................................................................................77

Fig. 13-5: Relationship between Voc and Isc of bottom component cell in a tandem cell under variation of 700 nm 

light intensity. ......................................................................................................................................................77

Fig. 13-6: Variation of tandem cell current (Itandem) with variation of intensity of red light as a function of detector 

voltage. ................................................................................................................................................................78

Fig. 13-7: I-V characteristic of top component cell in a tandem-junction cell. ...........................................................79

Fig. 13-8: I-V characteristic of bottom component cell in a tandem-junction cell. .....................................................80

Fig. 14-1: Transmission of glass encapsulated with EVA and Sylgard.......................................................................81

Fig. 14-2: Silicone elastomer encapsulated a-SiGe based minimodules......................................................................82

Fig. 15-1: A photo of UT’s PECVD system before expansion....................................................................................84

Fig. 15-2: A photo of UT’s HWCVD chamber integrated to the multi-chamber PECVD system. .............................85

Fig. 15-3: AutoCAD drawing of the PECVD/HWCVD system before recent expansion...........................................86

Fig. 15-4: AutoCAD drawing of the multi-chamber deposition system with additional chambers (1 load lock and 3 

sputtering chambers for Al, ZnO and ITO layers, as previously planned). .........................................................86

Fig. 15-5: Photo of the entire system with nine chambers--3 PECVD, 1 HWCVD, 4 Sputtering, and 1 Load lock 

chambers..............................................................................................................................................................87

xi
List of Tables 

Table 2-1: I-V performance of triple cell having heavily doped tunnel-junction interface layers with different 

thicknesses.............................................................................................................................................................6

Table 2-2: IV performance of top, middle and bottom component cells before and after 1000 hours of light soaking 

with 1 sun intensity at 50 o

C. .................................................................................................................................7

Table 2-3: IV performance for triple-junction a-Si based solar cells measured at UT and NREL. ...............................9

Table 3-1: Deposition conditions and device performance for a series of a-SiGe solar cells having bandgap optimal 

for use in high-efficiency single-junction solar cells ...........................................................................................13

Table 3-2: Performance of a-SiGe solar cells deposited using p-layers deposited at different temperature or different 

combination of temperatures ...............................................................................................................................15

Table 4-1: Deposition conditions and J-V performance for a series of a-Si solar cells ...............................................17

Table 5-1: Performance of a SiGe:H n-i-p devices made with different H dilution RH. ..............................................25

Table 6-1: Single-junction a-Si solar cell devices fabricated to map out the deposition phase diagram in terms of 

substrate temperature and hydrogen dilution.......................................................................................................29

Table 6-2: Thickness of the nip layers for the 42 samples fabricated to map out the phase diagram. The thickness 

shown is in nm.....................................................................................................................................................29

Table 6-3: Growth rate, in A/s, of i-layers deposited under different conditions. .......................................................30

Table 6-4: Open circuit voltage of the 42 samples fabricated to map out the phase diagram......................................30

Table 7-1: Deposition conditions of a-Si:H films using HWCVD. All samples were deposited at 100 mTorr with a 

filament temperature of 2000 °C. ........................................................................................................................36

Table 7-2: Properties of a-Si:H films deposited using HWCVD.................................................................................37

Table 8-1: The parameters of the coil-shaped filament used in this study...................................................................41

Table 9-1: Volume fraction of nanocrystalline silicon phase estimated from Raman spectra for two series of sample. 

Thicknesses of samples are also included in the Table........................................................................................52

Table 11-1: Gaussion deconvolution of the Raman spectra of Curve (b) and Curve (c) in Fig.1, including the peak 

position (Pk) and the peak area (A) of the TO modes for crystalline (TOc), amorphous (TOa) and interfacial 

(TOi) inclusions. The volume crystalline fraction (C) is also listed. ...................................................................65

Table 12-1: Description of different simulation cases for the triple junction solar cells studied in the present work. 70

 

xii
1 Introduction 

1.1 Background 

This final report covers the research works on the Project “High Efficiency and High-Rate 

Deposited Amorphous Silicon-Based Solar Cells” at the University of Toledo for the Period of 

September 1, 2001 to March 06, 2005, under NREL Subcontract No. NDJ-2- 30630-08. The 

objectives of this project are (1) to establish a transferable knowledge and technology base for 

the fabrication of high-efficiency triple-junction a-Si-based solar cells and (2) to develop highrate deposition techniques for the growth of a-Si-based and related alloys including poly-Si, μcSi, a-SiGe and a-Si films and photovoltaic devices with these materials. 

1.2 Technical Approach 

The approaches toward the program objective include (1) developing a “grand phase 

diagram” of deposition conditions for the growth of protocrystalline Si and protocrystalline SiGe 

alloys and use these materials for the fabrication of top, middle, and bottom component cells of 

spectrum-splitting triple-junction solar cells; (2) exploring the deposition of a-Si-based materials 

using new chemical precursors including trisilane; (3) studying the impact of mismatch of band 

edges at the interfaces on the solar cell I-V characteristics and the physics of buffer layers; (4) 

combining these improvements made in component cells and fabricate triple cells with high 

stable, total-area efficiency; (5) developing a technique to measure component cell I-V 

performance in a two-terminal triple stack; (6) performing modeling on triple cells and compare 

the modeling results with the actual fabricated triple-cell devices; and (7) fabricating poly-Si, μcSi, a-SiGe and a-Si at high rates using a hot-wire CVD process and depositing a-SiGe and a-Si at 

high rates using VHF plasma. 

1.3 Accomplishments and Organization of the Final Report 

Task 1: Grand phase diagram for deposition of protocrystalline Si and SiGe materials. 

Under this task, we studied the phase diagram for a-Si deposition for different H2 dilution 

ratio R and substrate temperature Ts. We found that the transition from amorphous to 

microcrystalline occurs with lower hydrogen dilution R at Ts ~ 200 °C. At higher and lower Ts, 

higher R is needed to deposit microcrystalline Si films. The results are summarized in Chapter 6. 

In order to be able to cover a broader parameter space within a limited time, we designed 

and installed a load lock chamber that allows us to load in simultaneously a set of ten 4”x4” 

masks with different patterns of coverage for the deposition. In this way, we could explore a 

large set of parameters in a single vacuum pump down. We have also studied the deposition of 

protocrystalline Si and SiGe using RF PECVD and HWCVD during this program period. 

1
The p-layer materials which lead to high Voc a-Si solar cells have been analyzed by high 

resolution TEM. It is concluded that the p-layer that leads to high Voc contains nc-Si particles, 

about 2nm to 3nm in size, imbedded in a-Si matrix. It is further concluded that the mixed phase 

p-layer with a higher volume fraction of nc-Si:H phase, within the range studied, leads to a 

higher Voc. The optimum p-layer material for nip-type a-Si:H solar cells is neither at the onset of 

the transition between amorphous to (amorphous and nanocrystalline) mixed phase nor a 

nanocrystalline/microcrystalline material with a high volume fraction of crystalline phase. 

Optical transmission measurements show that the nc-Si p-layer has a wide optical bandgap of 

1.96 eV indicated by Tauc’s plot, due to the quantum confinement effects (QCE). Using this kind 

of p-layer in n-i-p a-Si:H solar cells, the cell performances were improved with a Voc of 1.042 V, 

while the solar cell deposited under a similar condition but incorporating a hydrogenated 

microcrystalline silicon (μc-Si:H) p-layer leads to a Voc of 0.526 V. These results are summarized 

in Chapter 10 and Chapter 11. 

Task 2: Deposition of a-Si based materials using new gas precursors

This task is performed together with Voltaix, Inc., which supplies trisilane gas for 

deposition of a-Si based materials. Trisilane gas cylinder has been produced and installed in 

UT’s deposition system. We have carried out extensive system calibration so that a comparative 

study between trisilane and disilane can be performed. Detailed results on the trisilane study are 

reported in Chapter 9. 

Task 3: Study of nanometer-sized doped layers and the band-edge mismatch at heterointerfaces

Extensive research is carried out in this area. We studied extensively two interfaces: 1) the 

p-i interface and 2) the p+-n

+ interface at the tunnel junctions. The study on p-i interface for a-Si 

and a-SiGe solar cells is reported in the 29th IEEE Photovoltaic Specialist Conference, held in 

May, 2002. The paper is not attached in this report but can be obtained from the Proceedings of 

IEEE PVSC. In summary, we found that the p-layer optimized for a-Si top cell causes severe J-V 

roll-over when it is used for narrow bandgap a-SiGe alloys. We conclude that the band mismatch 

at the p-i interface prevents holes from being collected at the p-layer under a forward bias near 

Voc point (when the field is weakened). This causes reduced carrier injection, and consequently 

the poor roll-over behavior in the J-V characteristics. 

The study on the p+

-n+ interface at the tunnel junction is summarized in Chapter 2. 

As described in Chapter 15, we have completed the installation and optimization of a 5-

chamber addition to UT’s existing four-chamber PECVD/HWCVD systems. Four of the five 

chambers are used for the sputter deposition of metal (Al, Ag, etc), ZnO, ITO, SiO2 layers and 

the fifth one is a new load-lock chamber capable of simultaneously loading 10 substrates, marks, 

or combinations of substrates and masks. This system allows us to complete the entire 12 layers 

of a triple-junction solar cell, Al/ZnO/nip/nip/nip/ITO in a single vacuum pump down, thus 

avoiding the undesirable air exposure at some of the critical interfaces. The ability to control the 

air exposure at these interfaces could lead us to understand and analyze the optical and electrical 

2
losses at these interfaces such as ZnO/n and p-ITO interfaces. The deposition of back reflector 

layers (Al/ZnO and Ag/ZnO) and top conducting electrode (ITO) have been optimized. Triplejunction solar cells using this new 9-chamber deposition system have been fabricated on a 

routine basis The design and the process optimization of these five new chambers is supported 

by this NREL-funded project while the acquisition of components and the installation are 

supported by a complementary project funded by Air Force Research Lab. 

Task 4: Fabrication of triple-junction cells

Highlights of the accomplishment of this task include: 

• Fabrication of a-SiGe single-junction solar cells with >12.5% initial, active-area 

efficiency. 

• Fabrication of a-Si/a-SiGe tandem-junction solar cells with >12.5% initial, activearea efficiency. 

• Fabrication of a-Si/a-SiGe/a-SiGe triple-junction solar cells with >12.5% initial, 

active-area efficiency. 

• Fabrication of wide bandgap a-Si top cells with 11.1% initial efficiency. 

• Fabrication of top cells with Voc = 1.023 V and FF = 0.78 using improved intrinsic 

and doped layers. 

The details of the research on this task are summarized in Chapter 2, Chapter 3 and 

Chapter 4. 

Task 5: Technique for measuring component cell I-V in a two-terminal triple stack

The research activities in this area consist of two parts: 1) the experimental work has been 

mostly focused on two-junction, two-terminal device. The study was carried out using UT’s 

quantum efficiency system. The component cell performance in a tandem structure was 

measured using various bias light conditions. Further systematic study is still needed to 

demonstrate satisfactory results; 2) In addition to the experimental work, we have established a 

procedure that is expected to allow us to measure the J-V of component cells in a triple-junction 

stack. Employments of a novel technique have been developed at UT to measure the component 

cell current-voltage characteristics in a multiple-junction stack. We also have demonstrated the 

I-V measurement of component cells in tandem-junction solar cells. This technique is described 

in Chapter 13. 

Task 6: Modeling of triple-junction cells with AMPS and comparison with fabricated 

devices. 

We have performed modeling work in conjunction with the fabrication of triple cells. 

Modeling and simulation of triple junction a-Si solar cells have been studied by using the 

Advanced Semiconductor Analysis (ASA). The device performance is analyzed with 

numerically simulated I-V characteristics. We have studied several failure scenarios such as 

3
variations in the thickness of different layers of the multilayered triple-junction structure. 

Distinctive features of the I-V characteristics and solar parameters have been found which have 

been correlated and discussed with the basis of device physics. This work is summarized in 

Chapter 12. 

Task 7: High-rate deposition of a-Si based solar cells

Under this task area, we studied of the deposition of Si:H materials using HWCVD and 

VHF PECVD. 

In the HWCVD area, We have conducted extensive research using a hot-wire CVD process 

with a coiled filament and multiple gas inlets. Two papers were presented in the 2nd International 

Conference on Cat-CVD. Using such a coiled filament, we deposited a-Si films at a deposition 

rate up to 240 Å/s. These films show a low microstrcture R* (around or less than 0.1). At low Ts 

and without H dilution, we deposited a-Si films at a rate up to 800 Å/s. We studied the effect of 

the Si:H growth on different filament geometry. We also studied SiGe:H materials with different 

Ge content in the film and the deposition of amorphous and nanocrystalline SiGe:H alloys using 

different amounts of hydrogen dilution. Some of the studies in this area are summarized in 

Chapter 7 and Chapter 8. 

In the VHF PECVD area, new matching box was installed. The modification of hardware 

allows us to incorporate more power into the plasma and leads to higher deposition rate. Study of 

the deposition uniformity was also carried out. It was found that the film uniformity is the 

highest when the chamber pressure was kept near 0.35 Torr in our deposition system. Fabricated 

nc-Si based single-junction solar cells with >25% quantum efficiency in the 800-900nm range. 

4
2 Triple-Junction a-Si Solar Cells with Heavily Doped Thin Interface 

Layers at the Tunnel Junctions 

Contributors: W. Wang, H. Povolny, W. Du, X.B. Liao and X. Deng 

ABSTRACT 

Triple-junction a-Si based solar cells, having a structure of SS/Ag/ZnO/n+/n/b/a-SiGei/b/p/p+

/n+/n/b/a-SiGe-i/b/p/p+/n+/n/a-Si-i/p/p+/ITO, are fabricated at the University of Toledo 

using a multi-chamber, load-locked PECVD system. We studied the effect of heavily doped p+

and n+

 layers deposited at the tunnel junction interfaces between the top and middle component 

cells and between the middle and bottom component cells on the efficiency of triple-junction 

solar cells. Preliminary results show that thin, ~ 1nm, interface p+

/n+ layers improve the solar cell 

efficiency while thicker interface layers, ~4nm thick, cause the efficiency to decrease. 

Incorporating the improved interface layers at the tunnel junctions, as well as earlier 

improvements in the intrinsic layers, the p-i interface in terms of reducing the band-edge offset, 

and the a-SiGe component cells using bandgap-graded buffer layers, we fabricated triplejunction solar cells with 12.71% efficiency in the initial state and 10.7% stable efficiency after 

1000 hours of 1-sun light soaking. Samples sent to NREL for independent measurements show 

11.8% total-area (or 12.5% active-area) initial efficiency. 

2.1 INTRODUCTION 

Triple-junction solar cell structure have been studied and used extensively to deposit highefficiency a-Si based solar cells. Using a triple cell structure, United Solar Systems Corp. 

fabricated a-Si/a-SiGe/a-SiGe solar cells with 13% stabilized efficiency [1]. In such a triplejunction, two-terminal structure, the tunnel junction between the doped layers of neighboring 

component cells are formed due to the high concentration of recombination centers from the 

dangling bond defects in the doped a-Si materials. For this reason, the doped layers at the tunnel 

junctions are usually made thicker and/or with higher doping concentrations than those for 

single-junction solar cells [2]. However, a thicker doped layer would result in an optical loss and a 

higher doping concentration would result in a reduced bandgap, consequently, a lower Voc. In an 

earlier work [3], doping graded p-layer was studied in an n-i-p-n test structure. It was found that a 

p-layer with higher doping near the n-layer and lower doping near the i-layer leads to improved 

efficiency compared with a p-layer with constant doping [3]. In this work, we investigate the 

impact of inserting heavily doped thin interface layers at the tunnel junction to enhance the 

recombination of carriers from neighboring component cells. 

2.2 EXPERIMENTAL 

The structure of triple-junction a-Si based solar cell fabricated in this study is 

SS/Ag/ZnO/n+

/n/b/a-SiGe-i/b/p/p+/n+/n/b/a-SiGe-i/b/p/p+/n+/n/a-Si-i/p/p+/ITO, where SS is 

5
stainless steel foil substrate, p+

 and n+ are heavily doped interface layers, and /b/ on both sides of 

a-SiGe i-layers are bandgap graded buffer layers. All of the semiconductor layers were deposited 

using University of Toledo (UT)’s multiple-chamber PECVD system. The substrate coated SS is 

provided by Energy Conversion Devices, Inc. (ECD) and United Solar. ITO is deposited at UT 

using rf sputtering from a ITO target in Ar ambient. The solar cells were characterized at UT 

using a Xe-lamp solar simulator and a quantum efficiency measurement system with optical and 

electrical bias capability, allowing us to measure the QE of component cells in a triple-junction 

two-terminal stack. Detailed description of the experimental details can be found in our earlier 

reports [4]. 

2.3 RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS 

2.3.1 Heavily doped p+ and n+ interface layer at the tunnel junctions 

Table 2-1 shows the I-V characteristics of a series of four triple-junction solar cells having 

a structure SS/Ag/ZnO/n1

+

/n1/b/a-SiGe-i1/b/p1/p1

+

/n2

+

/n2/b/a-SiGe-i2/b/p2/p2

+

/n3

+

/n3/a-Sii3/p3/p3

+

/ITO, where p1

+

/n2

+

 and p2

+

/n3

+

 interface layers are varied while all other layers are 

essentially kept unchanged for the set of devices. These heavily doped layers were deposited 

using a doping ratio of BF3:SiH4=1.7:1 for the p+ layer and PH3: SiH4=1:10 for the n+ layer. The 

deposition rates for the p+ and n+ layers are estimated to be 0.3 Å/s and 1 Å /s, respectively. 

Table 2-1: I-V performance of triple cell having heavily doped tunnel-junction interface layers with 

different thicknesses 

p+ and n+ interface layer 

deposition time (s) 

p1

+

 & p2

+ n2+

 & n3

+

Voc 

(V) 

Jsc 

(mA/cm2

) 

FF 

(%) 

η

(%) 

Device Number 

0 0 2.300 7.25 68.4 11.4 GD846 

10 10 2.314 7.54 69.2 12.1 GD840 

20 20 2.276 7.55 69.7 11.9 GD842 

40 40 2.222 7.02 66.3 10.4 GD854 

As we see from the Table, GD846 was fabricated without heavily doped interface layer 

and is used here as a reference sample. Compared with GD846, GD840 (made with 10 s p+

/n+

layers) show an improvement in both the Jsc and FF. More devices will be fabricated to confirm 

that there is indeed an improvement in the current when thin p+

/n+ layers are inserted at the 

tunnel junctions. The loss of current in GD846, if further confirmed, would likely be due to an 

insufficient amount of recombination centers near the tunnel-junction interface, hindering photogenerated carriers from flowing to the tunnel junction to recombine. However, when thicker p+

and n+ layers, with 20 s or longer deposition time, are used, Voc drops significantly, from 2.31 V 

to 2.22 V. There are two possible reasons for this Voc drop. First, since the bandgap of a-Si 

decreases with increased doping, the effective bandgaps of the doped layers, p/p+

 and n/n+, are 

reduced when the p+

 and n+ layers are made thicker, resulting in a reduced built-in potential. 

Second, when the heavily doped layers are too thick, holes from p1 (p2) could fall into deep traps 

6
in p1

+

 (p2

+

) while electrons from n2 (n3) could fall into deep traps in n2

+

 (n3

+

); and these traps 

could be 50 Å apart, as in the case of GD854. These trapped charges could form a reversed 

electrical field at the p+

/n+ interface, reducing the total voltage of the triple cell. These trapped 

charges also generate potential barriers at the p/p+

 and n/n+ interfaces, hindering the flow of 

carriers toward the p+

/n+ interface, resulting in reduced current, as reflected in the Jsc of GD854. 

The loss in FF in GD854 could have two contributions. First, it could be from these potential 

barriers indicated above. Second, the additional optical absorption by the thicker p2

+

/n3

+

 layers 

and p1

+

/n2

+

 would reduce the current of the middle and bottom component cells, respectively, 

causing the triple cell to be more limited in current, at the power point, by the middle or bottom 

cell which has poorer FF than the top component cell. This results in a drop in the overall triplecell FF. 

2.3.2 Fabrication of Triple-Junction a-Si Solar Cells 

Incorporating optimized p+

/n+ layers at the tunnel junctions, as well as other recent 

improvements related to our triple-cell fabrication including: a) an improved intrinsic a-Si:H top 

cell i-layer made at low temperature and very high hydrogen dilution (see IV performance data 

of component cells in Table 2-2); b) improved a-SiGe component cells using bandgap graded 

buffer layers [5] (See IV data in Table 2-2) ; c) optimized nanocrystalline p-layer deposition 

conditions to reduce the band-edge offset at the p-i interfaces for component cells with different 

i-layer bandgaps [6]; and d) a careful analysis of the light spectrum of our solar simulator and 

improved the current matching among component cells, we achieved the fabrication of a-Si/aSiGe/a-SiGe triple cells with 12.7% initial efficiency. Fig. 2-1 shows the IV curve of the 12.7% 

triple cell, GD585. The performance for the triple cell is Voc=2.29V, Jsc=8.34 mA/cm2, 

FF=66.5% and the initial efficiency is 12.7%. 

Table 2-2: IV performance of top, middle and bottom component cells before and after 1000 hours of 

light soaking with 1 sun intensity at 50 o

C. 

Cell 

Number 

Cell 

Type 

Sub

s 

Voc 

(V) 

Jsc 

(mA/cm2

) 

FF 

(%) 

η

(%) 

Degradation 

(%) 

Top SS Initial 1.00 9.49 71.61 6.77 

Gd550-1 

Stable 0.98 9.20 66.66 6.01 11.23 

Middle BR Initial 0.80 18.95 65.51 9.97 

Gd572-2 

Stable 0.78 19.63 54.14 8.29 16.85 

Bottom BR Initial 0.62 22.85 60.96 8.57 

Gd575-2 

Stable 0.62 22.94 52.44 7.41 13.54 

7
Fig. 2-1: IV curve of a UT fabricated triple cell, showing 12.7% initial, active-area efficiency. 

Fig. 2-2 shows the quantum efficiency curves of the component cells in this triple cell. At 

the top of Fig. 2-2, we show the calculated short circuit currents of the component cells under 

both UT simulator and the AM1.5 global spectrum. Since the Xenon lamp spectrum does not 

match exactly the AM1.5 global spectrum, different short circuit currents were obtained when 

being calculated using different spectrums. It should also be pointed out that the top cell current 

was calculated with wavelength longer than 370 nm. Therefore, the actual current should be 

larger than the current of shown in the figure for top cell by about 0.3 mA/cm2 in according to 

our estimations. 

UT QE GD585-3#34 1/27/01

Under AM1.5GL Top=6.87, Mid=7.54, Bot=8..62, Total=23.03 mA/cm2

Under UT-lamp Top=7.19, Mid=7.98, Bot=7.34, Total=22.51 mA/cm2

0.0

0.1

0.2

0.3

0.4

0.5

0.6

0.7

0.8

0.9

1.0

350 450 550 650 750 850

Wavelength (nm)

Quantum efficiency

QE(Top)

QE(Middle)

QE(Bottom)

QE(Total)

Fig. 2-2: Quantum efficiency curve of 12.7% cell (GD585) showing the QE for top, middle and bottom 

cells. The figure also shows the short circuit current under UT simulator and AM1.5 spectrum. 

8
Some triple cells fabricated at UT were sent to NREL for independent measurements. 

Table 2-3 shows the measurement for GD585 measured at NREL and UT, which agree with each 

other very well. The small difference in the Jsc and FF is because UT’s simulator is slightly 

insufficient in the red, leading to a lower FF and a higher Jsc for a triple cell limited in the current 

by the top cell. The total-area η measured by NREL for GD585-3#33 is 11.8% (12.55% activearea), as shown in Fig. 2-3. 

Table 2-3: IV performance for triple-junction a-Si based solar cells measured at UT and NREL. 

Cell# Voc Isc FF Active 

area 

Active

-area η

Total 

area 

Totalarea ηMeasur

em’t Lab 

(V) (mA) (%) (cm2) (%) (cm2) (%) 

UT585-3#33 2.293 2.084 66.50 0.25 12.71 UT 

UT585-3#22 2.286 2.046 66.35 0.25 12.41 UT 

UT 585-3#33 2.3234 2.0591 67.17 0.256 12.55 0.272 11.81 NREL 

UT 585-3#22 2.3191 2.0331 66.14 0.255 12.41 0.271 11.68 NREL 

We have conducted light soaking stability tests for these UT fabricated triple-junction solar 

cells. After 1000 hours of one-sun light soaking at 50 oC, these triple cells degrade around 11-

12% and show stable active-area efficiency above 10.5% with the highest stable efficiency 

(active area) at 10.7%, shown in Fig. 2-4. The achievement of 10.7% stable efficiency is a 

significant improvement from our previously fabricated triple junction solar cells. 

Fig. 2-3: IV curve of GD585 measured at NREL, showing 11.8% initial, total-area efficiency. 

9
Fig. 2-4: I-V curve of a triple cell showing 10.7% stable efficiency 

2.4 SUMMARY 

The effect of heavily doped p+/n+ interface layers at the tunnel junction of triple-junction 

solar cells is studied. Preliminary results show that heavily doped thin interface layers could 

enhance the Jsc and FF of the triple cell. However, thicker interface layers (~4 nm or thicker) 

could result in significant reduction in Voc, Jsc and FF, possibly due to the formation of reversed 

electrical field at the tunnel junction and electrical potential barriers inside the doped layers. 

Incorporating improved component cells and tunnel junctions into triple cell fabrication, 

we achieved triple-junction a-Si/a-SiGe/a-SiGe solar cells with 12.7% initial active-area 

efficiency. NREL measurements for these cells show 11.8% initial total-area efficiency (12.55% 

active-area efficiency). After 1000 hours of light soaking, these triple cells stabilized at 

efficiencies of 10.5-10.7%, with a degradation of 11-12%. 

REFERENCES 

1. J. Yang, A. Banerjee, and S. Guha, Appl. Phys. Lett. 70 2975 (1997). 

2. A. Banerjee, J. Yang, T. Glatfelter, K. Hoffman and S. Guha, Appl. Phys. Lett. 64, 1517 (1994). 

3. X. Deng, NREL Phase I Annual Subcontract Report, NREL/TP-411-20687, pp65-74. Available NTIS: 

Order No. DE9696000530 (Feb. 1996). 

4. X. Deng, AIP Conf. Proc. 462, NCPV Photovoltaics Program Review, p.297 (1998). 

5. X.B. Liao, J. Walker, and X. Deng, MRS Symp. Proc. 557, 779 (1999). 

6. X.B. Liao, W. Wang, and X. Deng, this Proceeding. 

 

10
3 High-Efficiency Single-junction a-SiGe Solar Cells 

Contributors: W. Du, X. Yang, H. Povolny and X. Deng 

ABSTRACT 

Single-junction a-SiGe solar cells were fabricated using plasma enhanced chemical vapor 

deposition on stainless steel substrate coated with Ag/ZnO back-reflector. Incorporating 1) an 

optimized a-SiGe i-layer with thickness and bandgap more suitable for single-junction cell, and 

2) a hybrid p-layer with the sub-layer near a-SiGe i-layer deposited at a relatively high 

temperature for an optimal p-i interface and the bulk of the p-layer deposited at a relatively lower 

temperature for a better transparency, we achieved single-junction a-SiGe solar cells with initial, 

active-area efficiency greater than 12.5% and stable, active-area efficiency of 10.4%. Such high 

efficiency single-junction solar cells have important applications since they have initial and 

stabilized efficiencies approaching those usually obtainable with a multiple-junction structure, 

yet can be fabricated using a much simpler deposition process. 

3.1 INTRODUCTION 

We have previously reported our optimization of medium bandgap a-SiGe solar cell for 

use as the middle component cell of a triple-junction solar cell. In order to fabricate high 

efficiency single-junction solar cell which is simpler to manufacture, an ideal bandgap is close to 

that of the middle cell but not necessary the same. In this work, we investigated medium bandgap 

a-SiGe solar cell toward achieving single-junction solar cells with highest stable efficiency. 

In our earlier work, we also reported the stability test of single-junction a-SiGe devices 

with different Ge in the i-layer. It was surprising to find a-SiGe cells with small amount of Ge in 

the i-layer were more stable than a-Si cell without Ge in the i-layer after light soaking. It is for 

this reason, we expect to fabricate single-junction a-SiGe cells with higher stabilized efficiency 

than single-junction a-Si cells. 

In terms of p-layer fabrication, we reported previously that high performance wide 

bandgap single-junction a-Si solar cells (Voc=1.014V and FF=74.6%) were obtained using player deposited near the transition region between nanocrystalline silicon (nc-Si) and a-Si at a 

low temperate (Ts = 70 C). However, when such a p-layer, ideal for wide bandgap a-Si top cell, 

is used for narrow bandgap a-SiGe bottom cell in a multiple-junction solar cell, severe roll-over 

occurs in the J-V curve, possibly due to a mismatch at the p-i interface. It was further discovered 

that p-layer deposited at a higher Ts (140 C) forms a good interface with NBG a-SiGe i-layer and 

leads to ideal J-V curve [1]. The diode characteristics are even better than that of top cell. 

However, this p-layer, p (Ts=140C), is less transparent than p (Ts=70C). Although it is 

acceptable for use in middle and bottom component cell in a triple stack, it is not acceptable for 

use as the window layer in any single-junction solar cell. 

11
3.2 APPROACH 

Intrinsic Layer Optimization

We start with a-SiGe medium bandgap cell used as the middle cell inside a triple-junction 

stack and adjust the bandgap (i.e., Si:Ge ratio) and the thickness while maintaining the hydrogen 

dilution to be near the transition region from amorphous to microcrystalline. 

Doped Layer Optimization

To obtain a p-layer that forms good interface with a-SiGe and is more transparent as the 

window layer, we explored the use of a hybrid, stacked p-layer with sublayers deposited at 

Ts=140°C and 70°C [2], as depicted in Fig. 3-1. 

p (Ts2=70C) 

p (Ts1=140C) 

i NBG a-SiGe 

n a-Si

Fig. 3-1: Schematic of the device showing the p-layer with sublayers deposited at different 

temperature. 

3.3 EXPERIMENTAL 

The structure of single-junction a-SiGe solar cell fabricated in this study is 

SS/Ag/ZnO/n+

/n/b/a-SiGe-i/b/p/p+/ITO, where SS is stainless steel foil substrate, p+ and n+ are 

heavily doped interface layers, and /b/ on both sides of a-SiGe i-layers are bandgap graded buffer 

layers. All of the semiconductor layers were deposited using University of Toledo (UT)’s 

multiple-chamber PECVD system. The substrate coated SS is provided by Energy Conversion 

Devices, Inc. (ECD) and United Solar. ITO is deposited at UT using rf sputtering from a ITO 

target in Ar ambient. The solar cells were characterized at UT using a Xe-lamp solar simulator 

and a quantum efficiency measurement system Detailed description of the experimental details 

can be found in our earlier reports [3]. 

Thickness of the nip cells were measured using reflection measurement from interference 

peaks of the actual device. Therefore, the thickness used here is the combined thickness of n,i,p 

layers rather than that of the i-layer. 

3.4 RESULTS 

3.4.1 Optimization of the i-layer 

 Table 3-1 shows the results of a series of a-SiGe solar cells having a structure of 

SS/n+

/n/b/a-SiGe-i/b/p/p+/ ITO (for GD830, GD895, GD896, GD897) or SS/Ag/ZnO/n+/n/b/aSiGe-i/b/p/p+

/ ITO (for GD905). GD895 is deposited under our standard middle cell condition, 

12
used for the fabrication of triple cells with 12.7% initial efficiency. Device GD895, 896, 897 

incorporate increasingly more Si2H6 in the gas mixture, results in increasingly higher bandgap. 

The i-layer of device GD897 is deposited in 40 min while the rest of the devices in 60 min. It is 

expected we see increasingly higher Voc when Si2H6 is increased, the higher Jsc is due to the 

increased i-layer thickness. In the table, the thickness of nip was calculated from interference 

fringes in the reflection spectra. There is no obvious drop in the FF, at least in the initial state, 

when the i-layer is made with more Si2H6 (less Ge and thicker). 

Sample GD905 was made with a bandgap-graded a-SiGe i-layer so that the bandgap near 

the p-layer is smaller. In this way, more light is absorbed near the p-layer so that holes has less 

distance to travel to the p-layer and get collected. However, there is a significant drop in the open 

circuit voltage, which seems to be governed by the narrowest point in the i-layer bandgap, rather 

than the average bandgap. Sample GD905 shows higher efficiency since it is deposited on backreflector. The thickness of GD905 is not provided since it is deposited on a texture back reflector 

which prevents us from using interference fringes to calculate the thickness. 

Table 3-1: Deposition conditions and device performance for a series of a-SiGe solar cells having 

bandgap optimal for use in high-efficiency single-junction solar cells 

sample Si2H6 GeH4 H2 Time d of nip Voc Jsc FF Eff Substrate 

 No (sccm) (sccm) (sccm) (min) (nm) (V) (mA/cm2) (%) (%) 

gd830 1.5 2.75 100 60 323 0.830 14.2 70.2 8.7 SS 

gd895 2 2.75 100 60 271 0.861 15.6 70.8 9.5 SS 

gd896 2.5 2.75 100 60 382 0.873 16.0 69.4 9.7 SS 

gd897 3 2.75 100 40 300 0.886 14.2 72.7 9.1 SS 

gd905 2 1.8-3.8 100 60 0.833 20.7 68.1 11.8 BR 

 Since GD895 shows the highest FF, in addition to higher Voc and Jsc, it is selected for 

use as the standard i-layer deposition condition for single-junction a-SiGe cells. 

 We performed light soaking stability test. The light soaking was done using metal halide 

lamp with 100 mW/cm2

 light intensity. The samples are maintained at a temperature near 50C. 

Fig. 3-2 shows the J-V curve of one cell in GD904, deposited under the same conditions as 

GD895, but on Ag/ZnO back reflector. The initial cell efficiency is 12.1%. After 100 and 3300 

hours of light soaking, the stabilized efficiency is 10.5%. This is, to the best of our knowledge, 

highest reported stabilized efficiency for a single-junction a-Si based solar cell. 

3.4.2 Optimization of the p-layer 

Using the i-layer for GD895 (or GD904 which has the same i-layer), we fabricate a serious 

of a-SiGe single-junction solar cells with different p-layers. Boron doped layers, deposited at 

different temperatures, are used for the window layer. In Table 3-2, we present a serious of 

13
devices with p-layer deposited at: 1) only 140 C, which is the temperature for all samples shown 

in Table 3-1; 2) only 70 C, which is the ideal temperature for p-layer used in our high-efficiency 

top cells, 3) both 140 C (for time t1) and 70 C (for time t2). Again, GD904 is the standard 

condition as a reference. It is found that the device (GD919) with p-layer deposited at a higher 

temperature for a relative short time (t1=1min) and a lower temperature for a relatively longer 

time (t2=2min) forms a good interface with the narrow bandgap a-SiGe layer, as reflected in the 

high FF, and is more transparent, as reflected in the high Jsc. 

Fig. 3-3 shows the J-V curve of one cell in GD919 showing an initial, active-area 

efficiency of 12.8% (Voc=0.843 V, FF=0.727 and Jsc=21.3 mA/cm2). We think the current 

density might be slightly overestimated by a few percent according to quantum efficiency 

measured. We performed light soaking test for these cells for these samples. After 100 hours of 

light soaking, these samples with double p-layer show 10.4% stable efficiency. More light 

soaking test is to be performed. We believe that the improved Jsc due to the p-layer should not 

alter the light soaking stability. 

gd904-2.32

-25

-20

-15

-10

-5

0

5

10

-0.1 0.1 0.3 0.5 0.7 0.9

Voc (V)

J (mA/cm2)

3300 hours

100 hours

initial

LS time 0 100 3300

(hr)

Voc 0.854 0.827 0.831

Isc 20.6 20.6 20.2

F.F. 68.7 61.7 62.5

Eff 12.09 10.5 10.47

Fig. 3-2: J-V curves of a-SiGe cell (GD904-2.32) measured before and after light soaking for 100 and 

3300 hours, showing 10.47% stable, active-area efficiency. 

14
Table 3-2: Performance of a-SiGe solar cells deposited using p-layers deposited at different 

temperature or different combination of temperatures 

Sample t1 (min) t2 (min) Voc Jsc FF η

No 140C 70C (V) (mA/cm2) (%) (%) 

GD904 3 0 0.856 20.6 68.6 12.1 

GD907 0 3 0.856 20.7 65.9 11.7 

GD908 0.5 2 0.858 21.0 66.9 12.1 

GD919 1 2 0.847 21.5 70.1 12.8 

-25

-20

-15

-10

-5

0

5

10

-0.2 0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1

Voltage (V)

Current (A/cm^2)

cell No: Gd919-2.24

Voc=0.843V

Isc=21.322mA/cm^2

F.F=72.662

Eff=13.06%

Area=0.25cm^2

Fig. 3-3: J-V curve of a single-junction a-SiGe solar cell with initial, active-area efficiency of around 

13%. 

3.5 SUMMARY 

High-efficiency single-junction a-SiGe solar cells are obtained using 1) improve a-SiGe ilayer and 2) a p-layer deposited with two separate steps: with one at a higher temperature for 

better interface with a-SiGe i-layer and the other at a lower temperature for better transmission. 

We achieved a-SiGe single-junction cells with greater than 12.5% initial, active-area efficiency 

and 10.4% stabilized efficiency. 

15
REFERENCES 

1. X. Liao, W. Wang, and X. Deng, Proc. of 29th IEEE PVSC, 1234 (2001). 

2. X. Liao et al, to be submitted to Proc. of 3rd WCPEC (2003). 

3. W. Wang, H. Povolny, W. Du, X. Liao and X. Deng, Proc. of 29th IEEE PVSC, 1082 (2001). 

16
4 Optimization of High-efficiency a-Si Top Cell 

Contributors: W. Du, X. Yang and X. Deng 

4.1 Introduction 

 In this study, we optimize the deposition of a-Si cell for use as top component cell inside 

a triple-junction stack. In addition, we optimize the solar cell for use as a single-junction a-Si 

solar cell without any Ge in the i-layer. Third, we explore the possibility of improving the p-layer 

using a double-p-layer deposited at different temperatures, which lead to significant 

improvement in the performance of medium bandgap a-SiGe cells. 

4.2 Experimental 

 Amorphous Si solar cells having a structure of SS/Ag/ZnO/n+

/n/a-Si-i/p/p+/ITO or 

SS/n+/n/a-Si-i/p/p+/ITO are deposited using a PECVD system with all three types of layers 

deposited in separated PECVD chambers. The p-layers are deposited in two different steps at 

different temperatures for some of the samples. 

4.3 Results 

Table 4-1 shows the performance for a series of a-Si cells deposited with different Si2H6

and H2 flows and different i-layer deposition times. In addition, two samples, GD909 and GD912 

are deposited with a p-layer deposited in two steps. 

Table 4-1: Deposition conditions and J-V performance for a series of a-Si solar cells 

Sample Si2H6 H2 t(i-layer) t (p-layer) Voc Jsc FF Eff Substrate

No. (min) (min) (V) (mA/cm2) (%) (%) 

 140C/70C 

gd909 1 100 60 1/2 0.988 13.2 72.0 9.36 Ag/ZnO 

gd921 1 100 60 0/4 0.986 9.2 71.2 6.48 SS 

 gd915 1 100 120 0/4 0.982 11.3 66.7 7.62 SS 

gd910 2 100 60 0/4 0.961 11.9 69.5 7.98 SS 

gd911 2 100 40 0/3 0.949 10.9 71.2 7.37 SS 

gd912 1.5 100 60 1/3 0.968 11.0 71.1 7.58 SS 

gd914 1 75 120 0/4 0.982 17.4 65.3 11.15 Ag/ZnO 

gd917 1 100-50 60 0/3 0.957 11.8 64.5 7.26 SS 

17
From Table 4-1, we observe the following: 

• Comparing GD921 and GD915, thicker i-layer leads to higher Jsc and lower FF, while 

Voc is unchanged. 

• Comparing GD915 and GD910, less dilution and short time leads to device with higher 

FF. 

• Two-step p-layer does not show improvement for the top cell. 

• Sample deposited with a graded hydrogen dilution, with intent to keep the structure of aSi on the amorphous side without becoming microcrystalline, does not show any 

improvement. This is puzzling and should be repeated in the future. 

• Sample with intermediate H dilution (H2/Si2H6=100/1.5) exhibit highest initial efficiency. 

Fig. 4-1 shows the J-V curve of GD912, showing 11.1% initial efficiency. We have later 

further improve the fabrication process such as the ITO layers. This results in a further 

improvement in the cell performance. Fig. 4-2 shows an improved cell, ideal for use as a top 

component cell, showing 1.023 V open circuit voltage and 78% fill factor. 

-20

-15

-10

-5

0

5

-0.2 0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 1.2

Voltage (V)

Current (mA/cm^2)

cell No: Gd914-2.31

Voc=0.989v

Isc=17.206mA/cm^2

F.F=65.299

Eff=11.117%

Area=0.25cm^2

Fig. 4-1: An optimized top cell deposited on Ag/ZnO back reflector, showing 11.1% initial, active-area 

efficiency. 

18
-15

-10

-5

0

5

-0.2 0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 1.2

Voltage (V)

Current (A/cm^2)

cell No: Gd993-2.13

Voc=1.023V

Isc=11.658mA/cm^2

F.F=77.527

Eff=9.249%

Area=0.25cm^2

Fig. 4-2: J-V curve of an improved a-Si solar cell showing 1.023 V open circuit voltage and 78% fill 

factor. The current is such that it is ideal for use as the top cell of a triple cell. 

4.4 Summary 

We optimized a-Si solar cell i-layer and p-layer and obtained improved top cell: 

• Wide bandgap a-Si top cell with 11.1% initial efficiency 

• Wide bandgap a-Si top cell with 1.023V Voc and 78% FF 

19
5 Raman and IR study of narrow bandgap a-SiGe and μc-SiGe films 

deposited using different hydrogen dilution 

Contributors: X. Liao, W. Wang and X. Deng 

Summary 

Hydrogenated amorphous silicon-germanium (a-SiGe:H) films and n-i-p solar cells near 

the threshold of microcrystalline formation have been prepared by plasma enhanced chemical 

vapor deposition (PECVD) with a fixed germane to disilane ratio of 0.72 and a wide range of 

hydrogen dilution RH=(H2 flow)/(GeH4+Si2H6 flow) values of 1.7, 10, 30, 50, 120, 180 and 240. 

The effects of RH on the structural properties of the films were investigated using Raman 

scattering and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) absorption spectroscopy. It is found that H 

dilution causes the H content, especially that in SiH2 configuration, in a-SiGe:H films to decrease 

and finally leads the films through amorphous to microcrystalline transition. The onset of the 

phase transition occurs at RH about 180, and the crystalline formation begins first in the Si-rich 

region. Light soaking tests on the solar cells demonstrate that the devices with higher RH exhibit 

higher stabilized efficiency after 1000 hours of 1 sun light soaking. 

5.1 Introduction 

Narrow band gap a-SiGe:H alloy has attracted a great deal of attention for application in 

the tandem and triple-junction solar cells, because its optical band gap can be tailored by 

changing the Ge content to match longer wavelengths of the solar spectrum. However, as the Ge 

content increases and the bandgap decreases, the electronic and structural properties of the films 

tend to be inferior. Although in recent years the defect density in a-SiGe:H films has been much 

suppressed by e.g. H-dilution [1], cathode deposition [2], and using disilane-germane mixture 

without H dilution [3] in PECVD process, the further improvement in the film quality has been a 

challenging issue in the research and development of a-Si:H based solar cells. In the previous 

reports we performed a systematic investigation of the effects of Ge content [4] and H dilution 

[5] on the electrical and optical properties of a-SiGe:H films. In this paper we report the impact 

of H dilution on the structural properties of a-SiGe:H films and n-i-p solar cells near and above 

the threshold of crystallinity. 

5.2 Experimental 

The a-SiGe:H films, approximately 0.5 μm thick, were deposited on 7059 glass, crystalline 

silicon (c-Si) wafer and stainless steel (SS) substrates using rf (13.56 MHz) PECVD in a 

ultrahigh-vacuum, multi-chamber, load-locked deposition system. A gas mixture of disilane, 

germane and hydrogen was used with a fixed germane to disilane ratio of 0.72 and a varying 

hydrogen dilution ratio RH of 1.7, 10, 30, 50, 120, 180 and 240, which is defined as the ratio of 

gas flows of [H2] to [Si2H6] + [GeH4]. The germane to disilane ratio is the same as what we 

20
typically use for the i-layer in the narrow-bandgap bottom cell of our standard triple-junction 

solar cells [6]. FTIR absorption measurements were taken for samples on c-Si substrates to 

obtain information on the H content and bondings. In order to analyze the structural properties, 

Raman scattering spectra were recorded from the films on 7059 glass and n-i-p cell devices on 

stainless steel, upon the excitation of an argon laser with 488nm wavelength. 

Single junction n-i-p solar cells using these a-SiGe materials as the i-layers were deposited 

on SS substrates without the use of a back-reflector. I-V measurements were taken under a Xelamp solar simulator under AM1.5 spectrum. Light soaking was performed under one-sun light 

intensity using a metal halide lamp. The light intensity is maintained at such a level that a 

reference Si solar cell generates the same current as it does under a Xe-lamp simulator. 

5.3 Results and Discussions 

5.3.1 FTIR absorption spectra 

The FTIR absorption spectra of seven a-SiGe:H samples are plotted in figures 1(a) and 

1(b) with a varying H-dilution RH = 1.7 (GD419), 10 (GD420), 30 (GD422), 50 (GD423), 120 

(GD424), 180 (GD449) and 240 (GD450), respectively. The arrangement of the spectra in these 

figures is in the sequence from top to bottom with RH increasing. 

0

1000

2000

3000

4000

5000

400 500 600 700 800

Wavenumber (cm-1)

Absorption Coefficient (cm-1)

GD419

GD420

Gd422

Gd423

Gd424

Gd449

Gd450

Fig. 5-1(a): FTIR absorption spectra of a-SiGe:H films in the range from 400 to 800 cm-1. The IR 

spectra were taken from the samples deposited under H-dilution RH = 1.7 (GD419), 10 (GD420), 30 

(GD422), 50 (GD423), 120 (GD424), 180 (GD449) and 240 (GD450), respectively 

21
Fig. 5-1(a) shows the IR spectra ranging from 400 to 800 cm-1. It is seen from this figure 

that a prominent peak appears at about 560-640 cm-1 region, which is assigned to the bending 

vibration of Si-H and Ge-H bonds. As RH decreases from 1.7 to 240, the peak intensity is 

monotonically decreased, indicating that the hydrogen content (CH) in the films descends with 

increasing H dilution, while its peak position is not obviously affected. However this peak 

position has a small red shift, due to the existence of Ge-H bonds in the a-SiGe:H films, in 

respect to the bending mode of Si-H bonds in a-Si:H at 640 cm-1. This is similar to the earlier 

results in the literature [7], that reported the wagging or rocking modes of Si-H bonds gradually 

shifting from 640 cm-1 to 560 cm-1, as the Ge relative content increased from 0 to 1. 

0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

3000

3500

1800 1900 2000 2100 2200

Wavenumber(cm-1)

Absorption Coefficient(cm-1)

GD419

GD420

Gd422

Gd423

Gd424

Gd449

Gd450

Fig. 5-1(b): FTIR absorption spectra of a-SiGe:H films in the range from 1800 to 2200 cm-1 . The IR 

spectra were taken from the same samples as in Fig. 5-1(a). 

Fig. 5-1(b) shows the IR spectra ranging from 1800 to 2200 cm-1. It is seen that a few 

absorption features appear at about 2090, 2000 and 1872 cm-1, which are respectively assigned 

to stretching vibrations of SiH2, SiH and GeH configurations. 

It is interesting to note the impact of RH on the relative intensity of the stretching mode at 

2090 cm-1, I2090, which is defined as the ratio of its intensity to that of the peak at 2000 cm-1. As 

RH increasing from 1.7 to 120, the relative intensity I2090 becomes weaker. This suggests that the 

relative concentration of SiH2 configuration in a-SiGe:H films decreases with RH increasing. But 

as RH further increasing from 120 to 240, the relative intensity I2090 starts to increase. The 

dependence of I2090 on RH could be seen more clearly in Fig. 5-2. This enhancement of I2090 at 

higher RH is likely correlated with the formation of the microcrystalline phase in the films. We 

assigned it to H2* complexes in the boundaries between microcrystallites [8]. 

The influences of H-dilution on the hydrogen content CH is also illustrated in Fig. 5-2, 

which was derived from the IR absorption coefficient of the Si-H bending mode in Fig. 5-1(a). It 

22
shows that CH decreases as RH increases, except one point corresponding to the phase transition 

region RH=120, where an anomalous increase in CH was found. This is similar to the observation 

in a-Si:H when deposited under high H-dilution to the phase transition region [9]. 

5.3.2 Raman spectra 

To clarify the structural variation we performed Raman spectroscopy measurements on the 

three highest diluted samples. Fig. 5-3 shows the Raman spectra taken from the front surface of 

the a-SiGe:H samples deposited on 7059 glass under RH=120 (GD424), 180 (GD449) and 240 

(GD450), respectively. For comparison the Raman spectrum of GD450R taken from the backside of the sample of GD450 through the glass substrate is also shown in the figure. 

It is seen that for the sample of GD424 (RH = 120) two broad envelops were observed at 

~394 and ~260 cm-1, which may correspond to Si-Ge and Ge-Ge vibrations in the amorphous 

network. In addition, a shoulder at ~476 cm-1 was recognized, which should correspond to the 

TO phonon of a-Si. These results are similar to the earlier report on Raman spectra of a-SiGe:H 

[7]. 

0

0.1

0.2

0.3

0.4

0.5

0.6

0.7

0 50 100 150 200 250

H-dilution

CH & I2090

I2090

CH

Fig. 5-2: The relative intensity I2090 and hydrogen content CH of a-SiGe:H samples as a function of Hdilution RH . 

For the sample of GD450, it can be seen clearly that a few crystalline SiGe Raman 

characteristic peaks appear in the spectrum, including the Si-Si TO phonon at 496cm-1, the Si-Ge 

vibration at 402cm-1 and Ge-Ge TO phonon at 284cm-1. It notes that the Si-Si TO phonon has a 

red-shift, compared with the c-Si TO phonon. The lowered frequency could be explained in 

terms of the presence of the larger mass neighboring Ge atoms in the network. These 

observations are similar to the results reported by Jelenkovic et al [10], who obtained the similar 

three Raman peaks from the SiGe samples prepared by rf magnetron sputtering followed by a 

post-annealing crystallization at 550°C.

23
For Sample GD449, with a little lower H-dilution R=180 than GD450, we find that it 

locates near the phase transition region from amorphous to microcrystalline state. The crystalline 

characteristic Si-Si vibration at 498cm-1 is just beginning to appear in the Raman spectrum, while 

the Si-Ge vibration at 394 cm-1 keeps nearly unchanged, compared to its amorphous counterpart. 

The similar situation was also observed in the literature [10], where the crystalline Si-Si Raman 

peak first appeared in their spectra and then grew in intensity with the post-annealing time (see 

their Fig. 4). It seems that there are phase segregation phenomena occurring in a-SiGe:H films 

and the crystallization is beginning first from the Si-rich region in the films. 

For the Raman spectrum GD450R, taken from the back-side of GD450 through the glass 

substrate, only one broad peak can be found at 480cm-1, indicating that the film first grown on 

the glass substrate is still in amorphous state, even though RH is as high as 240. Crystallization in 

a-SiGe:H films is thickness-dependent as observed in a-Si:H[11].

0

200

400

600

800

200 300 400 500

Wavenumber (cm-1)

Raman intensity (a. u.)

GD424

GD449

GD450

GD450R

Fig. 5-3: Raman spectra of high H-dilution a-SiGe:H samples, with RH=120 (GD424), 180 (GD449) and 

240 (GD450), respectively. The Raman spectra were taken from the front surface of the samples, 

except GD450R, which was taken from the back side of sample GD450 through the glass substrate. 

5.3.3 a-SiGe:H n-i-p solar cells 

The structural variation in a-SiGe:H intrinsic layer with H-dilution should be reflected in 

the performances of constituent solar cells. Table 5-1 lists the photovoltaic parameters of aSiGe:H n-i-p devices made with different H dilution RH [5]. It is seen from the Table that the 

short circuit current density Jsc is roughly unchanged within the experimental error. The fill 

factor FF seems to increase with H-dilution, but with some fluctuation. The open circuit voltage 

24
Voc increases from 0.64 V to 0.67 V with RH up to 120, before it starts to decrease down to 0.64 

V when RH is further increased to 240. This may be correlated with the fact that small amount of 

microcrystalline phase is formed at R=240. 

Considering the fact that the a-SiGe n-i-p solar cells are deposited on stainless steel and only 

about 170nm thick, we also performed Raman scattering measurements on the solar cells. For the 

sample GD451 with intrinsic layer deposited under RH=180, the obtained Raman spectrum 

shows a main peak at ~480 cm-1 and a small shoulder at ~ 500cm-1, which could be respectively 

assigned to the Si-Si TO phonon in amorphous and crystalline network. This verifies that the 

sample is indeed at the beginning of the phase transition from amorphous to crystalline state. 

Light soaking tests for these a-SiGe:H samples were also performed to understand the 

effect of RH on the device stability. The last column of Table 5-1 shows the degradation under 

one-sun light soaking at 50 o

C for 1000 hours. It is found that the degradation is reduced with 

higher RH, down from 21% for RH =10 to 11% for R=120. 

Table 5-1: Performance of a SiGe:H n-i-p devices made with different H dilution RH.

Device H dilut Voc Jsc FF Eff Light 

Degrad. 

No. RH (V) (mA/cm2) (%) (%) (%) 

GD429 1.7 0.638 16.2 53.8 5.54 

GD428 10 0.64 17.7 53.1 6.02 20.9 

GD425 30 0.656 17.4 59.1 6.76 21.6 

Gd426 50 0.662 17.2 55 6.25 14.2 

GD427 120 0.669 17 54.8 6.25 11.4 

GD451 180 0.656 18.1 56 6.65 -- 

GD452 240 0.636 18.5 55.8 6.55 -- 

5.4 Conclusion 

We have deposited a series single-layer films and n-i-p solar cells using narrow bandgap aSiGe:H materials deposited via PECVD using different H-dilution ranging from RH=1.7 to 240. 

Samples with higher RH value showed lower amounts of H incorporated into the films, especially 

in the SiH2 configuration, and exhibited higher light soaking stability. The onset of the phase 

transition from a-SiGe:H to μc-SiGe:H occurs at about RH=180. The results from the films and 

devices deposited using different H-dilution suggest that high H dilution up to 120 could be used 

to deposit a-SiGe:H films and devices with improved light stability. 

References: 

1. J. Yang, A. Banerjee, T. Glatfelter, K. Hoffman, X. Xu and S. Guha, “Correlation of component cells 

with high efficiency amorphous silicon alloy triple junction solar cells and modules”, Proc. 1st world 

Conf. on Photovoltaic Energy Convention (Waikoloa, 1994) pp. 387-390. 

25
2. P. Wickboldt, D. Pan, W. Paul, J. H. Chen, F. Zhong, J. D. Cohen, Y Chen and D. L. Williamson, 

“Improved a-SiGe1-xGex:H of large x deposited by PECVD”, J. Non-Cryst. Solids, 198-200, 1996, pp. 

567-571. 

3. A.Matsuda and G. Ganguly, “Improvement of hydrogenated amorphous silicon germanium alloys 

using low power disilane–germane discharges without hydrogen dilution”, Appl. Phys. Lett., 67, 1995 

pp. 1274-1276. 

4. P. Agarwal, H. Povolny, S. Han and X. Deng, “Study of a-SiGe:H Films and n-i-p Devices used in 

High Efficiency Triple Junction Solar Cells”, J. of Non-Cryst. Solids, 299-302, 2002 pp. 1213-1218. 

5. H. Povolny, P. Agarwal, S. Han and X. Deng, “Comparison Study of a-SiGe Solar Cells and Materials 

Deposited Using Different Hydrogen Dilution”, Mat. Res. Soc. Symp. Proc. 609, 2000, A30.3. 

6. X. Deng and X.B. Liao, S. Han, H. Povolny and P. Agarwal, “Amorphous Silicon and Silicon 

Germanium Materials for High Efficiency Triple-junction Solar Cells”, Solar Energy Materials & 

Solar Cells, 62, 2000, pp. 89-95. 

7. Y. Chou and S. Lee, “Structural, optical, and electrical properties of hydrogenated amorphous silicon 

germanium alloys”, J. Appl. Phys. 83, 1998, pp. 4111-4123. 

8. S. Sheng, X. Liao and G. Kong, “Study of the microstructure of high stability a-Si:H films by Raman 

Scattering and infrared absorption spectra”, Appl. Phys. Lett., 73, 1998, pp. 336-338. 

9. U. Kroll, J. Meier, A. Shah, S. Mikhailov and J. Weber, “Hydrogen in amorphous and microcrystalline 

silicon films prepared by hydrogen dilution”, J. Appl. Phys., 80, 1996, pp. 4971-4975. 

10. E. V.Jelenkovic, K.Y. Tong, Z. Son, C. L. .Mak, and W.Y. Cheung, “Properties of crystallized Si1-

xGex thin films deposited by Sputtering”, J. Vac. Sci. Technol. A 15, 1997 pp. 2836-2841. 

11. R. J. Koval et al., “Performance and stability of Si:H p-i-n solar cells with i layers prepared at the 

thickness-dependent amorphous-to-microcrystalline phase boundary”, Appl. Phys. Lett. 75, 1999, pp. 

1553-1555. 

26
6 Phase Diagram for Deposition of Amorphous and Microcrystalline 

Silicon 

Contributors: W. Wang, W. Du, X. Yang and X. Deng 

6.1 Introduction 

It is widely known that the deposition of amorphous and microcrystalline Si using PECVD 

and other thin film deposition processes depend on the hydrogen dilution of silicon containing 

gases (SiH4 or Si2H6) in the gas phase. At lower hydrogen dilution, the film deposited is 

generally amorphous silicon, while at sufficiently higher hydrogen dilution, the film deposited 

becomes microcrystalline. For certain ranges of dilution, the film contains a mixed phases of 

amorphous and microcrystalline. However, the dilution level at which the phase transition from 

amorphous to microcrystalline occurs depends on other deposition conditions. For example, 

when a-Si film is thicker, it is more likely to form microcrystalline[1]. In this study, we explore 

the dependence of microcrystalline formation on the hydrogen dilution at different temperatures. 

This is important because when we want to deposit a-Si intrinsic layers for solar cells, we would 

like to deposit these materials near the onset of microcrystalline formation. Only if we know 

what the transitioning dilution level for each temperature is, we could deposit a-Si material with 

optimal dilution. 

What is explored in this study are two dilution levels: Ram, the dilution level at which the 

transition between amorphous to mixed phase starts, and Rmc, the dilution level at which the 

mixed phase to pure microcrystalline phase starts. We investigate the dependence of Ram and Rmc

on the substrate temperature. 

The transition from a-Si to μc-Si depends not only on hydrogen dilution, it also depends on 

a variety of other factors, such as the film thickness and substrates. Since films for Raman 

measurement of microcrystalinity are usually deposited on glass and is thicker, the finding for 

Ram and Rmc may be different as in solar cell devices. To study the phase transition for 

application in solar cells, it is most applicable when these studies are done in real solar cell 

devices. 

It has been reported [2] the open circuit voltage in single-junction a-Si solar cells is a 

sensitive measure of microcrystalline silicon formation. When the a-Si i-layer is deposited near 

the edge, i.e., protocrystalline, the open circuit voltage is the highest. When a mixed phase starts, 

the Voc starts to drop with increasing dilution. When the i-layer is dominated with 

microcrystalline, the Voc approaches 0.50 V. In this study, we use the open circuit voltage as an 

indirect measure of microcrystalline formation. 

27
6.2 Experimental 

Amorphous and microcrystalline n-i-p solar cells are deposited with a structure SS/n-ip/ITO. All semiconductor layers are deposited using PECVD process. The deposition time of the 

i-layer is adjusted so that the i-layer thickness is approximately 120 nm, which is similar to the 

thickness of the i-layer as in a top component cell. The thickness of the device is calculated from 

the interference fringes in reflection spectra. The combined thickness of the doped layer is 

around 40 nm. 

Forty-two nip deposition runs were made at dilution level R=[H2]/[Si2H6] of 25, 50, 100, 

150, 175 and 200. The reading substrate temperature is set at 100, 150, 200, 250, 300, 350 and 

400. The temperature range is selected to cover the temperature usually used to deposit a-Si and 

μc-Si while the dilution range is selected to cover the transition from amorphous to 

microcrystalline. Since the temperature is read from a location near the heater, away from the 

substrate, the actually temperature of the substrate is different. In Fig. 6-1, we show the 

calibration of substrate temperature as a function of the reading temperature under different gas 

flow scenarios. From this calibration, substrate temperatures are obtained as 75, 115, 151, 187, 

220, 260, 295 C. In fact, substrate temperatures quoted in our previous reports also need to be 

calibrated using Fig. 6-1. 

20

70

120

170

220

270

320

370

50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 450 500 550

Reading Temperature (C)

Actual Substrate Temperature Ts (C)

1 hour heating at background vacuum,

~2e-7 torr

Ts-5 mins 0.5 torr)

ts-15mins (0.5 torr)

Ts-5 mins (2 torr)

Ts-15mins (2 torr)

Ts-5 mins (0.6 torr)

ts-15mins (0.6 torr)

Fig. 6-1: Calibration of actual substrate temperature from the reading temperature for UT’s PECVD 

deposition system. 

28
6.3 Results 

Table 6-1 shows the PECVD solar cell fabrication runs conducted for this study. For each 

deposition run, four 2”x2” samples are deposited. On each 2”x2” sample, we fabricate an array 

of ITO contacts. Table 6-2 shows the thickness of the nip device on stainless steel measured 

using reflection interference fringes. This thickness includes the thickness of the doped layers, 

which is around 40 nm. Therefore, the thickness of the i-layer is around 120 nm. We show the 

thickness here since the transition from a-Si to uc-Si depends on the thickness for each dilution 

level. The effect of thickness was considered in the analysis. The deposition time for the i-layers 

deposited at a dilution levels R of 25, 50, 100, 150, 175 and 200 are 20, 30, 60, 90, 105 and 120 

min, respective, except that GD783 was deposited in 127 min. From the deposition time and 

thickness, the deposition rate was calculated, as shown in Table 6-3. 

Table 6-1: Single-junction a-Si solar cell devices fabricated to map out the deposition phase diagram 

in terms of substrate temperature and hydrogen dilution 

 Ts\R 25 50 100 150 175 200 

295 0C GD821 GD808 GD806 GD807 GD809 GD816 

260 0C GD788 GD782 GD779 GD792 GD810 GD789 

220 0C GD820 GD811 GD796 GD812 GD813 GD814 

187 0C GD819 GD804 GD780 GD794 GD805 GD815 

151 0C GD817 GD801 GD795 GD800 GD802 GD803 

115 0C GD818 GD797 GD781 GD791 GD793 GD783 

75 0C GD829 GD828 GD824 GD826 GD827 GD825 

Table 6-2: Thickness of the nip layers for the 42 samples fabricated to map out the phase diagram. 

The thickness shown is in nm. 

Ts\R 25 50 100 150 175 200 

295 0C 158 171 164 159 164 176 

260 0C 154 164 154 180 165 173 

220 0C 171 158 166 158 181 160 

187 0C 162 163 159 159 165 152 

151 0C 168 156 153 140 169 148 

115 0C 168 156 159 135 158 146 

75 0C 157 148 145 154 158 156 

29
Table 6-3: Growth rate, in Å/s, of i-layers deposited under different conditions. 

Ts\R 25 50 100 150 175 200 

295 0C 0.98 0.73 0.35 0.22 0.20 0.19 

260 0C 0.95 0.69 0.32 0.26 0.20 0.19 

220 0C 1.10 0.66 0.35 0.22 0.22 0.17 

187 0C 1.02 0.68 0.33 0.22 0.20 0.16 

151 0C 1.06 0.65 0.31 0.19 0.21 0.15 

115 0C 1.06 0.64 0.33 0.18 0.19 0.15 

75 0C 0.97 0.60 0.29 0.21 0.19 0.15 

Table 6-4: Open circuit voltage of the 42 samples fabricated to map out the phase diagram 

Ts\R 25 50 100 150 175 200 

295 0C 0.846 0.873 0.901 0.78 0.634 0.528 

260 0C 0.91 0.921 0.924 0.77 0.572 0.52 

220 0C 0.926 0.954 0.968 0.735 0.557 0.489 

187 0C 0.948 0.979 0.989 0.783 0.538 0.48 

151 0C 0.937 0.984 1.011 0.867 0.585 0.486 

115 0C 0.929 0.976 1.014 0.814 0.542 --- 

75 0C 0.867 0.927 0.949 0.862 0.554 0.512 

Table 6-4 shows the Voc for the set of devices. Each Voc value listed in Table 6-4 is the 

average of the Voc values from the ITO contacts that shows highest J-V performance on each 

sample. Sample GD783, deposited at Ts=115C and R=200, is shunted. Therefore, the Voc for this 

sample is discarded. As we can see from Table 6-4, the highest average Voc, 1.014 V, is 

obtained when the i-layer is deposited at around 120C with a H dilution of 100. The highest Voc 

is obtained near the transition region, at a dilution level right below that for microcrystalline 

formation. In Fig. 6-2, we plot Voc for these devices as a function of R for each Ts. It is 

observed that 1) for all Ts, R=100 leads to the highest Voc; 2) at higher Ts, the drop in Voc when 

R is greater than 100 occurs more slowly with increasing R, while at lower Ts, the drop in Voc

occurs rapidly; and 3) at higher R ~ 200, all samples show Voc around 0.5 V, indicating the ilayer contains large volume fraction of microcrystalline. 

Based on the information in Table 6-4, we also generated a contour plot for Voc in the Ts—

R graph. The contour plot shows that highest Voc is generated at R ~ 90 and Ts ~ 140 °C. 

30
0.3

0.4

0.5

0.6

0.7

0.8

0.9

1

1.1

0 50 100 150 200 250

H Dilution R=[H2/Si2H6]

Voc (V)

295C

260C

220C

187C

151C

115C

75C

Fig. 6-2: Voc of nip solar cells as a function of hydrogen dilution for different substrate temperatures 

75 115 151 187 220 260 295

25

50

100

150

175

200

Voc (V)

Temperature (C)

Dillution (H2/Si2H6)

Voc change with Temperature and Dillution

1.05-1.1

1-1.05

0.95-1

0.9-0.95

0.85-0.9

0.8-0.85

0.75-0.8

0.7-0.75

0.65-0.7

0.6-0.65

0.55-0.6

0.5-0.55

0.45-0.5

0.4-0.45

Fig. 6-3: Contour plot of the Voc as a function of substrate temperature and H2 dilution ratio. 

31
6.4 Discussions 

Since the drop in Voc from above 0.9 V to 0.5 V with increasing R is due to the formation 

of microcrystalline phase in the bulk, we can use this study to generate deposition “phase 

diagram”. The reason Voc starts to drop when R is increased beyond 100 is because small 

amount of microcrystals starts to form. From Fig. 6-2, we estimate the dilution at which the Voc 

drops 10% from its maximum value and use this dilution, Ram, as the “phase boundary” between 

amorphous and mixed phases, as shown in Fig. 6-4. 

100

110

120

130

140

150

160

170

180

190

200

0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350

Ts (C)

H dilution

R1: a----->mixed

R2: mixed----->microcrystalline

Fig. 6-4: Phase diagram for the a-Si and microcrystalline growth in Ts-R plot. 

We then use the dilution Rmc at which the Voc drops down to 0.55V as the “phase 

boundary” between mixed phase and microcrystalline phase, since a significant amount of 

microcystalites must have been formed to drop Voc to around 0.50 V. 

From Fig. 6-2, we observe that Ram is lowest near 200 C and it increases at both higher Ts 

and lower Ts. For Rmc, it is somewhat flat at low Ts and it increase when Ts is increased beyond 

200C. We think the reason that Ram is higher at low Ts, near 75 C, since at this Ts, the Si species 

stick to the surface easily and the material has a strong tendency to form polyhydride. 

Furthermore, these Si species may not land on a site that is desirable for microcrystalline Si 

formation and there is not enough surface mobility at this low temperature for these Si species to 

move around and find appropriate sites. Therefore, large amount of Si needs to be etched away 

from the surface through higher H dilution to form microcrystallines. At higher Ts, again, we 

need to have more R to form microcrystalline Si. We think this is because at higher Ts, ~300C, 

there maybe less H coverage on the growth surface, resulting in reduced surface mobility during 

growth. Consequently, higher R is needed to form microcrystallines. 

32
6.5 Summary 

Amorphous silicon solar cells are deposited at different substrate temperature Ts and with 

different H2 dilution ratio R. We observed the change in Voc with increasing R for different Ts. It 

is found that the conditions near R~90 and Ts~140C are most desirable to lead to high Voc. We 

also generated a deposition “phase diagram” that maps out the formation of amorphous, 

microcrystalline and mixed phases. It is found that at Ts~200C, lowest R is needed to deposit 

microcrystalline Si. At both higher and lower Ts, we need higher R to deposit μc-Si. 

References 

1. R. Collins et al. NREL a-Si team meeting. 2000. 

2. J. Yang et al, NREL a-Si team meeting. 2000. 

33
7 High Rate Deposition of Amorphous Silicon Films Using Hot-Wire 

CVD with Coil-Shaped Filament 

Contributors: Henry S. Povolny and Xunming Deng 

Abstract 

To reduce the manufacturing cost for amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) based photovoltaics, it is 

important to deposit high-quality a-Si:H and related materials at high deposition rate. To this end, 

we designed and constructed a hot-wire deposition chamber with a coiled filament design and 

with multiple gas inlets. The process gas could be directed into the chamber through the filament 

coil and have maximum exposure to the high temperature filament surface. Using such a 

chamber design, we deposited a-Si:H films at high deposition rates up to 800 Å/s and dense, 

low-void a-Si:H at rates up to 240 Å/s. 

7.1 Introduction 

Considerable progress has been made in hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) based 

thin film photovoltaics during the recent years [1,2]. For high-efficiency solar cells, the a-Si:H 

layers in these devices have typically been deposited using RF Plasma Enhanced Chemical 

Vapor Deposition (PECVD). While RF PECVD produces cells with high efficiency, the 

deposition rates are generally low, around 1-5 Å/s. A number of alternative deposition 

techniques have been explored to deposit a-Si:H intrinsic layers at higher deposition rates. Using 

a very high frequency (VHF) PECVD process, high efficiency solar cell devices have been 

produced with a-Si:H intrinsic layers deposited at around 10 Å/s [3,4]. Hot-wire CVD 

(HWCVD) [5], also called Catalytic-CVD process [6], has been used to deposit a-Si:H based 

solar cells at higher deposition rates [7-9]. Although HWCVD-produced cells still show lower 

efficiency than PECVD-produced cell, the potential to deposit a-Si:H at higher rates makes 

HWCVD an attractive process for a-Si:H solar cell fabrication. In addition to photovoltaic 

application, a-Si:H is also used for other devices such as charged particle detectors [10,11]. In 

these devices, pin structures with i-layers thickness up to 10-20 μm are used to detect alpha 

particles or neutrons. Therefore, it is important to explore deposition processes that can be used 

to deposit a-Si:H films at high deposition rates. In this paper we report our study on the high-rate 

deposition of a-Si:H films using a HWCVD process employing a coiled filament design [12] and 

high flow rates. 

7.2 Chamber Description 

The Hot-Wire Chemical Vapor Deposition (HWCVD) chamber, shown in Fig. 7-1, 

consists of a high vacuum chamber, a substrate holder, a coiled filament perpendicular to the 

substrate, two annular gas inlets near the substrate and one axial gas inlet directed through the 

filament coil, a gas confinement cup and an annular RF electrode for PECVD. The substrate 

34
holder, capable of holding a 10 cm by 10 cm substrate, is inverted over the gas confinement cup. 

Deposition was made on a variety of substrates including c-Si, quartz, 7059 glass, 1737 glass and 

stainless steel. 

Heater

Substrate

RF Electrode

Gas Inlet 1 

Gas Inlet 2

Gas Confinement Cup

Electrical Feedthrough 

Coiled Filament

Gas Inlet 3

Gas Inlet 1

Gas Inlet 1

Thermocouple

Shutter

Fig. 7-1: Schematic diagram of the Hot Wire CVD deposition chamber. 

The filament coil is typically one meter of 0.75 mm diameter tungsten wire wound in a coil 

approximately 7 mm in diameter and 5 cm long with around 40 evenly spaced revolutions. Both 

0.2 mm and 0.5 mm diameter tungsten wires were tried but did not support themselves at 

deposition temperatures. The filament is attached by a short, straight length of wire at the top and 

bottom to two vertical posts running parallel to the filament on either side approximately 2 cm 

away. The top of the filament can be positioned anywhere from 4.5 cm to 6.75 cm from the 

substrate though 5.7 cm was the distance used for this study. Temperature of the filament was 

calibrated using an optical pyrometer in vacuum and with hydrogen flow at various pressures. To 

maintain temperature of the 0.75 mm diameter tungsten wire at 2000 °C, currents between 29.5 

amps and 31.5 amps were required depending on gas flow. Only a slight dependence on flow rate 

was noticed though higher pressures sometimes required current increases of 1 to 2 amps to 

maintain filament temperature. 

Process pressures ranged from 7 mTorr to 200 mTorr for HWCVD and 500 mTorr for 

PECVD. Process gas flows ranged from a few sccm to 140 sccm. Deposition is fairly uniform 

over a 2 cm by 2 cm area in the center of the substrate area but falls off by 50% or less closer to 

the edge. 

35
7.3 Experimental Details 

A series of nine samples was prepared at high flow rates both with and without hydrogen 

dilution on a variety of substrates including 1737 glass, 7059 glass, quartz, crystalline silicon (cSi) and stainless steel (SS). Pressure was 100 mTorr and the filament temperature Tfil was 2000 

°C for all samples. Mixtures of Si2H6 and H2 were used as the process gases. The substrate 

temperature Tsub ranged from 100 to 400 °C, which was the temperature of the substrates 

(actually measured at the position of the heater) before filament was turned on. The actual 

temperature of the substrate is expected to be higher due to filament heating. The other 

deposition conditions are summarized in Table 7-1. A surface profilometer was employed to 

measure film thickness. Transmission was measured to determine the thickness and the index of 

refraction from the interference fringes and band gap from the Tauc plot. Fourier Transform 

Infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) was performed to determine hydrogen content from the integrated 

area of the 640 cm-1 peak and bond preference from comparing the 2000 cm-1 (monohydride) and 

2100 cm-1 (dihydride) peak heights. The microstructure factor, R*, the relative concentration of 

H in silicon dihydride and silicon polyhydride to the total H in the film, is calculated from the 

ratio of integrated absorption in the FTIR [2100cm-1]/([2100cm-1]+[2000cm-1]). Lower R* 

suggests that the film is dense and has less micro voids. Electrical conductivity was measured to 

determine dark conductivity (σdark), photo conductivity (σphoto) and the photo-to-dark 

conductivity ratio. 

Table 7-1: Deposition conditions of a-Si:H films using HWCVD. All samples were deposited at 100 

mTorr with a filament temperature of 2000 °C. 

Sample Si2H6 flow 

(sccm) 

H2 flow 

(sccm) 

Tsub

(°C) 

Time 

(sec) 

Thickness 

(μm) 

Dep 

Rate 

(Å/s) 

Sample 

ID 

A1 105 0 100+ 30 2.1 700 HW107 

A2 105 0 200+ 30 1.4 460 HW113 

A3 105 0 300+ 30 0.72 240 HW112 

A4 105 0 400+ 30 0.72 240 HW111 

B2 105 100 200+ 30 0.54 180 HW108 

B3 105 100 300+ 30 0.60 200 HW109 

B4 105 100 400+ 30 0.46 150 HW110 

C 70 0 175+ 120 2.4 200 HW105 

D 140 0 100+ 30 2.4 800 HW106 

7.4 Results 

Table 7-1 shows the deposition conditions of a series of nine samples deposited under 

different conditions. Samples A1, A2, A3 and A4 were deposited at substrate temperatures of 

100, 200, 300 and 400 °C. All of these four samples were deposited with a Si2H6 flow of 105 

sccm without hydrogen dilution. Samples B2, B3 and B4 were deposited at Tsub of 200, 300 and 

400 °C while the flow of Si2H6 and H2 were kept at 105 and 100 sccm respectively. Samples C 

36
and D were deposited with different Si2H6 flows, designed to see whether the deposition rate is 

limited by Si2H6 gas flows. All of the nine samples were deposited at a pressure of 100 mTorr 

and a filament temperature of 2000 °C. All samples were deposited with a deposition time of 30 

seconds except Sample C, which was deposited in 120 seconds. The deposition time is controlled 

by a shutter. The total time taken in opening and closing the shutter is estimated to be less than 

1.5 sec. The thickness in Table 7-1 is obtained using a surface profilometer, measured near the 

center of the film, directly above the coiled filament. From Table 7-1, we see that the deposition 

rate of the films ranges from 150 Å/s to 800 Å/s, depending on the Si2H6 gas flow and the 

substrate temperature. 

The deposition uniformity is poor on the 10 cm by10 cm substrates due to the nature of the 

coiled filament and the fact that all of the process gases were directed into the chamber through 

the inlet adjacent to the filament. For example, profilometer measurements indicate that at a 

position 3 cm away from the center the film thickness drops approximately 30%. However, the 

thickness is fairly uniform within a 2 cm by 2 cm area near the center. 

In Table 7-2, we summarize the results from UV-visible transmission spectroscopy, FTIR 

spectroscopy, and photo and dark conductivity measurement. The first column lists refractive 

indices n calculated by dividing nd from the transmission spectroscopy and d from the 

profilometer measurement. We did not rely solely on the thickness obtained from transmission 

measurements as there is a large variation in the index of refraction in this set of films and the 

films may not be highly uniform in thickness. Here n is the index in the long wavelength region. 

The optical bandgap Eg is calculated using Tauc plot (α hν)

1⁄2 = B (hν – Eg). The bandgap for 

Samples A1 and D are approximate since Tauc plots do not yield straight lines. The hydrogen 

content (CH) is calculated from the bending mode of the Si-H absorption (640 cm-1 peak) in the 

FTIR spectrum. We use a conversion factor of 2.3 ×1019 between H concentration and the 

integrated 640 cm-1 absorption peak [5] and a Si density of 5×1022 cm-3 to calculate CH. For 

Samples A1 and D, the actual Si density could be lower so the CH value could be higher than 

what is listed in Table 7-2. 

Table 7-2: Properties of a-Si:H films deposited using HWCVD. 

Sample n Eg(opt) 

(eV) 

hydrogen 

(at %) 

R* 

(2000vs.2100) 

σdark 

(Ω-1cm-1) 

σphoto 

(Ω-1cm-1)

Photosensitivity 

A1 1.9 ~1.9 >10 1.0 <2x10-11 1x10-10 >5 

A2 2.3 1.74 12 0.90 <2x10-11 2x10-9 >1x102

A3 3.6 1.63 10 0.17 4x10-10 4x10-9 9x100

A4 3.7 1.61 6 0.11 4x10-10 5x10-9 1x101

B2 3.6 1.78 19 0.50 <2x10-11 2x10-8 >1x103

B3 3.9 1.62 7 0.04 3x10-10 1x10-8 4x101

B4 4.3 1.63 3 0.05 2x10-10 2x10-8 1x102

C 3.6 1.63 8 0.36 2x10-11 8x10-8 4x103

D 1.6 ~1.9 >8 1.0 3x10-11 6x10-9 2x102

Table 7-2 also lists the film’s microstructure factor R*, calculated from FTIR spectrum. In 

the last three columns of Table 7-2, we show the dark conductivity ( σdark), photoconductivity 

37
(σphoto), which is measured under 1 sun light intensity, as well as photosensitivity (σphoto/σdark). 

σphoto and σdark are measured using a coplanar geometry with painted silver paste electrodes. 

For the four samples in series A that were deposited without H dilution, when Tsub

increases from 100° to 400 °C, the deposition rate rd drops from 700 to 240 Å/s, as we see from 

Table 7-1. However, as reflected in the increase in the index of refraction to ~3.7 and decrease in 

R*, at higher Tsub, the films are dense and with little micro voids. The bandgap drops down from 

~1.9 eV to 1.61 eV, due to the drop in CH in the film from 12 at.% or greater down to 6.0 at.% 

when Tsub is increased from 100° to 400 °C, since at higher Tsub, more H diffuses out of the film 

during the deposition, leaving less H inside. σdark increases with Tsub, consistent with reduced 

bandgap at higher Tsub. σphoto increases with Tsub, partially due to the reduced bandgap and 

partially due to the improved structural properties. There is no obvious trend in the 

photosensitivity since σdark is below the limit of the electrometer currently used in our set up. 

Sample A1, although deposited at high deposition rate, contains high concentration of H in 

dihydride and/or polyhydride mode, indicating a porous film and is not of interest for 

photovoltaic applications. 

With H dilution during the deposition, Samples in series B show a similar trend that at 

higher Tsub the films show higher n, lower bandgap, and less CH but with lower R*. Comparing 

Samples B2 and A2, a moderate level of H dilution, with H2:Si2H6=1:1.05, reduces the 

deposition rate but improves significantly the structural quality of the film, as reflected from the 

reduced R* and higher index of refraction. It contains more H than A2 and has a slightly higher 

bandgap. Comparing Samples B3 and B4 with Samples A3 and A4, a moderate level of H 

dilution does not change the bandgap or σdark, but it reduces CH, reduces R* and increases σphoto as 

well as the photosensitivity, and is therefore beneficial. 

 

Sample A1, A2, C and D exhibit the effect of Si2H6 gas flow F as well as Tsub. At higher F 

and lower Tsub (Samples A1 and D), the deposition rate is high, up to 800 Å/s. However, the film 

is porous with an R*=1. At higher Tsub but lower F (Sample C), the film is denser and with low 

R*, but with lower rd, which is still much higher than the deposition rate typically reported in the 

literature, usually less than 50 Å/s. The photosensitivity is comparable among this set of films. 

7.5 Discussions 

We believe that the ability to grow films at high deposition rate is largely due to the highly 

efficient dissociation of gases at the filament due to the increased interaction time of the process 

gas with the filament. However, when the high flux of SiH3 and other radicals arrive at the 

growth surface, SiH3 radicals and H atoms do not have sufficient time to move around and find 

an appropriate site before the next radical arrives. Thus the non-ideal structure gets “frozen” and 

the material becomes porous. High temperature is needed so that the radicals on the surface can 

quickly move to favorable sites. 

However, at these high temperatures hydrogen would diffuse out of the film at a 

correspondingly high rate. To maintain a high deposition rate and yet to keep H in the a-Si:H 

structure, we suggest to cool the substrate rapidly to below 250 °C after the completion of 

38
deposition at high Tsub. In this way high surface mobility can be maintained during the growth to 

promote dense, void free films, without losing hydrogen from the bulk due to effusion after the 

film is deposited. 

7.6 Conclusion 

Using a HWCVD process employing a coiled filament adjacent to the gas inlet, we 

deposited a-Si:H films at high deposition rates, in the range of 140 Å/s to 800 Å/s. The higherrate samples are porous and contain H in mostly polyhydride bonding. At higher substrate 

temperature, a-Si:H films with low microstructure are deposited at a rate up to 240 Å/s. These 

films are dense but with relatively low H content. We suggest that dense a-Si:H films could be 

deposited at high rate (e.g., 800 Å/s) at a higher substrate temperature (e.g. 400 °C) but the 

substrates need to be cooled down rapidly from the growth temperature immediately after the 

deposition to prevent H from out effusion. 

References: 

1. S. Guha, J. Yang, A. Banerjee, T. Glatfelter, K. Hoffman, S. Ovshinsky, M. Izu, H. Ovshinsky, X. Deng, 

Materials Research Society Symp. Proc. Vol. 336, 645 (1994). 

2. Yang, A. Banerjee, and S. Guha, Appl. Phys. Lett. 70, 2977 (1997). 

3. A. Shah, Dutta J, Wyrsch N, Prasad K, Curtins H, Finger F, Howling A, Hollenstein C, Materials Research 

Society Symp. Proc. Vol. 258, 15 (1992). 

4. X. Deng, Jones S, Liu T, Izu M, Ovshinsky S, Proceedings of the 26th Photovoltaic Specialists Conference, 

591 (1997). 

5. A. Mahan, Carapella J, Nelson B, Crandall R, Balberg I, J. Appl . Phys. 69, 6728-6730 (1991). 

6. H. Matsumura, Jpn. J. Appl. Phys. 25, L949-951 (1986). 

7. A. Mahan, Xu Y, Nelson B, Crandall R, Cohen J, Palinginis K, Gallagher A, Appl. Phys. Lett. 78, 3788 

(2001). 

8. Q. Wang, E. Iwaniczko, J. Yang, K. Lord and S. Guha, MRS Proc. Vol. 664, A7.5.1 (2001). 

9. S. Bauer, B. Schroeder, W. Herbst and M. Lill, Proc. 2nd World Conf. on Photovoltaic Solar Energy 

Conversion, 363 (1998). 

10. V. Perez-Mendez, J. Morel, S.N. Kaplan, and R.A. Street, Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics 

Research, 252, 478 (1986). 

11. D. Holcomb, A. Wintenberg, and X. Deng, “Pixelated neutron beam monitor development”, in Proc. of 

International Workshop on Position-Sensitive Neutron Detectors--Status and Perspectives, June 2001, 

Hahn-Meitner-Institut, Berlin, Germany. 

12. M. Konagai, Kim W, Tasaki H, Hallerdt M, Takahashi K, AIP Conf. Proc. 157, 142-149 (1987). 

39
8 Deposition of a-SiGe:H and nc-SiGe:H Films Using HWCVD 

Contributors: Xinmin Cao, Henry S. Povolny and Xunming Deng 

Abstract 

 Using hot-wire chemical vapor deposition (HWCVD) with coil-shaped tungsten filament, 

amorphous and nanocrystalline silicon-germanium (SiGe) films are deposited with a filament 

temperature Tfil in the range of 1700 – 2000 °C, a substrate temperature Tsub in the range of 150 – 

400 °C, and a gas mixture with a disilane/germane/hydrogen gas mixture ratio of 3.4/1.7/7, 

2.4/1.7/7 and 0/1.7/7, respectively. The structural properties of as-deposited films are 

investigated by Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman 

scattering and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) absorption spectroscopy. The influence of the 

filament length on film property is also studied. 

8.1 Introduction 

 Amorphous SiGe alloys are used as i-layers in the tandem and triple-junction amorphous 

silicon based solar cells. By varying the amount of Ge in the i-layer, the band gap can be varied 

from ~1.1 eV (in pure a-Ge:H films) to 1.8 eV (pure a-Si:H) films. Using a triple cell structure 

and with a PECVD method, United Solar Systems Corp. fabricated a-Si/a-SiGe/a-SiGe solar 

cells with 13% stabilized efficiency [1]. Using an intrinsic a-SiGe:H absorber layer deposited by 

HWCVD method, Lill et al achieved solar cells with an ηinitial = 6.4% for pin cell structure [2] and 

Wang et al achieved solar cells with ηinitial = 7.3% for nip cell structure [3], respectively. 

 Recently nc-Si:H material related investigation has attracted a great deal of attention for 

solar cell application. Schropp et al yielded η = 5.97 % for HWCVD nip solar cells with a 

nanocrystalline absorber i-layer of an amorphous / nanocrystalline phase transition [4]. By 

integrating nc-Si:H absorber i-layers deposited by HWCVD, Klein et al achieved solar cells with 

an ηinitial = 7.4 % for pin cell structure and ηinitial = 9.4 % for nip cell structure, respectively [5]. It 

was assumed, by deposition near the amorphous to nanocrystalline phase transition, a highly 

conductive nc-Si:H with a compact morphology and effective grain boundary passivation could 

be achieved and thus the defect density in the films could be greatly reduced. 

 At the University of Toledo, we deposited a-SiGe:H and nc-SiGe:H films by HWCVD 

with different deposition parameters. The structural properties of as-deposited films are 

investigated by Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman 

scattering and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) absorption spectroscopy. Our goal is to find 

suitable HW deposition conditions for SiGe films containing amorphous / nanocrystalline phase 

transition and thus to obtain high quality nc-SiGe:H films with a relatively high deposition rate 

for solar cell applications. 

40
8.2 Experimental 

 The SiGe films, approximately up to 1.3 μm thick, are deposited on 7059 glass, 

crystalline silicon (c-Si) wafer and stainless steel (SS) substrates using Hot-Wire Chemical 

Vapor Deposition (HWCVD) with a coil-shaped tungsten filament in an ultrahigh-vacuum, 

multi-chamber, load-locked deposition system. The HWCVD system consists of a high vacuum 

chamber, a substrate holder, a coiled filament perpendicular to the substrate, two annular gas 

inlets near the substrate and one axial gas inlet directed through the filament coil, a gas 

confinement cup and an annular RF electrode for PECVD. The substrate holder, capable of 

holding a 10 cm by 10 cm substrate, is inverted over the gas confinement cup. Detailed 

description of this HWCVD system can be seen elsewhere [6, 7]. 

 Two types (Type L and Type S) of coil-shaped filament with the same filament diameter 

of 0.75 mm but with different filament lengths have been used in this study. The parameters of 

these two types of filament coils are shown in Table 8-1. The coil-shaped filament Type L is 

made of tungsten wire 100 cm long and of 0.75 mm diameter, wound in a coil of approximately 

7 mm in diameter and 47 mm long with around 45 turns. On the other hand, for the coil-shaped 

filament Type S we used only 30 cm long same tungsten wire, wound in a coil of approximately 

8 mm in diameter and 20 mm in length with around 10 turns. The tops of the filament Type L 

and Type S both have the same distance of about 6 cm from the substrate. 

Table 8-1: The parameters of the coil-shaped filament used in this study 

Filament: tungsten (W), diameter of 0.75 mm, coil shaped 

Type Filament length Coil turns Coil length Coil diameter 

Type L 100 cm 45 47 mm 7 mm 

Type S 30 cm 10 20 mm 8 mm 

 

 A gas mixture with a disilane/germane/hydrogen gas mixture ratio of 3.4/1.7/7, 2.4/1.7/7 

and 0/1.7/7 is used for depositing amorphous and nanocrystalline silicon-germanium (SiGe) 

films. The filament temperature Tfil is set in the range of 1700 – 2000 °C, while the substrate 

temperature Tsub in the range of 150 – 400 °C. 

 Transmission measurements in the Vis-NIR range (400 nm – 3300 nm) are carried out to 

determine the thickness, optical gap and refractive index of these films. 

 The film surface topographies are investigated by Scanning electron microscopy (SEM); 

the crystalline fraction of the films are obtained from Raman scattering spectroscopy; the 

orientation and size of crystallites are detected by X-ray diffraction (XRD); and the bonded 

hydrogen content in the films and its bonding nature with Si and Ge is determined from Fourier 

transform infrared (FTIR) absorption spectroscopy. 

41
8.3 Results and Discussions 

8.3.1 Dependence of Deposition rate and surface topography on Tfil and Tsub 

 The deposition rate rdep of SiGe-films deposited by HWCVD is significantly influenced 

by the filament temperature Tfil, but not that much by the substrate temperature Tsub, as shown in 

Fig. 8-1. At a Si2H6 flow rate FSi2H6 = 3.4 sccm, GeH4 flow rate FGeH4 = 1.7 sccm, H2 flow rate 

FH2 = 7.0 sccm, a total process pressure p = 3.1 mTorr and a substrate temperature Tsub = 200°C, 

the deposition rate rdep increases from 2.8 Å/s to 7.9 Å/s with increasing filament temperature 

Tfil from 1800 °C to 2000°C. While the substrate temperature is at Tsub = 300°C, the deposition 

rate rdep increases from 3.3 Å/s to 8.7 Å/s with increasing filament temperature Tfil from 1800 °C 

to 2000°C. All the four depositions have the same deposition time of t = 15 min. The increase in 

deposition rate at the higher Tfil may be attributed to the higher gas cracking efficiency due to 

higher filament temperature where availability of growth precursors (SiH3 etc) and atomic 

hydrogen (H) both are expected to be high enough. In the further structural characterizations we 

shall verify the effects of these factors on material properties. 

Substrate Temperature Tsub ( oC)

150 200 250 300 350

Deposition rate rdep (Å/s)

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

FSi2H6 = 3.4 sccm, F GeH4 = 1.7 sccm

F H2 = 7 sccm, p = 3.1 mTorr, t = 15 min

Tfil = 2000 o

C

Tfil = 1800 o

C

Fig. 8-1: Dependence of the deposition rate rdep on the filament temperature Tfil and the 

substrate Temperature Tsub at a Si2H6 flow rate FSi2H6 = 3.4 sccm, GeH4 flow rate FGeH4 = 

1.7 sccm, H2 flow rate FH2 = 7.0 sccm, a total process pressure p = 3.1 mtorr. 

 The film topographical structures of the above four SiGe samples are also characterized 

by SEM. Fig. 8-2a and 2b show the SEM images of the two samples deposited at Tfil =1800 °C 

with the substrate temperature of Tsub = 200°C and Tsub = 300°C, respectively. The two films 

have relatively smooth surface. Fig. 8-2c and 2d show the SEM images of the two samples 

deposited at Tfil =2000 °C with the substrate temperature of Tsub = 200°C and Tsub = 300°C, 

respectively. These films at Tfil =2000 °C have very rough surfaces. This maybe results from the 

production of nanocrystalline SiGe grains at a relative high deposition rate. 

42
(a) (b) 

(c) (d) 

Fig. 8-2: Top-view SEM images of SiGe samples deposited at a Si2H6 flow rate FSi2H6 = 3.4 

sccm, GeH4 flow rate FGeH4 = 1.7 sccm, H2 flow rate FH2 = 7.0 sccm, a total process pressure 

p = 3.1 mtorr using a) Tfil =1800 °C and Tsub = 200°C, b) Tfil =1800 °C and Tsub = 300°C, c) Tfil

=2000 °C and Tsub = 200°C, and d) Tfil =2000 °C and Tsub = 300°C. 

8.3.2 Dependence of film crystallinity on different Tfil, Tsub and gas mixtures 

 Raman measurements are done on a series of SiGe films, which are deposited with 

different GeH4, Si2H6 and H2 gas mixtures at a filament temperature Tfil ranged from 1800 °C to 

2000°C and a substrate temperature Tsub ranged from 150 to 300°C. From the Raman spectra as 

shown in Fig. 8-3, the Raman characteristic vibrations of dominant nanocrystalline phases could 

be observed clearly. Crystalline Si-Si TO band near 500 cm-1, crystalline Si-Ge TO band near 

400 cm-1 and crystalline Ge-Ge TO band near 300 cm-1 appear in the Raman spectra. It can be 

seen that the positions and intensities of the Si-Si, Si-Ge and Ge-Ge Raman peaks are obviously 

shifted and changed with the disilane/germane/hydrogen gas mixture ratio R. The Raman spectra 

of the HW samples HW124, HW125, HW126, HW127 and HW132, which are deposited at a 

disilane/germane/hydrogen gas mixture ratio of 3.4/1.7/7 corresponding to RH 

(=[H2]/([Si2H6]+[GeH4]+[H2])) of 58% have a Si-Si Raman peak centered at 507 cm-1, Si-Ge 

Raman peak at 400 cm-1 and Ge-Ge Raman peak at 282 cm-1. The intensity of the Si-Si Raman 

peak is also higher than those of Ge-Si and Ge-Ge Raman peaks. The Si-Si TO band in the 

nanocrystalline SiGe films are centered around 507 cm-1 and have a peak shift of about 13 cm-1

as compared to the crystalline Si-Si TO band centered near 520 cm-1 in the single crystalline Si 

43
films. This suggests that with the presence of Ge in the SiGe film the crystalline Si-Si bonding 

length becomes a little bigger than normal. 

 The Raman intensity of Ge-Ge and Si-Ge peak increases with increasing germane content 

in the gas mixture, meanwhile the Raman peaks are also shifted. As shown in the Raman spectra 

of the samples HW128, HW129, HW130 and HW131 with a disilane/germane/hydrogen gas 

mixture ratio of 2.4/1.7/7 corresponding to RH of 63 %, Si-Si peak is shifted to 502 cm-1, Si-Ge 

Raman peak to 404 cm-1 and Ge-Ge Raman peak to 287 cm-1, while the intensity of Si-Ge and 

Ge-Ge peak also increase. 

 Raman measurements are also done on pure Ge films of the HW samples HW133-136 

deposited with a disilane/germane/hydrogen gas mixture ratio of 0/1.7/7 (without disilane) 

corresponding to RH of 80%, and only sharp Ge-Ge TO peaks centered near 300 cm-1 are present 

in these Raman spectra. 

Raman shift ∆ν (cm-1)

200 300 400 500

Raman intensity (a.u.)

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

HW132 2000 300 

Si2H6 : GeH4 : H2

3.4 : 1.7 : 7

2.4 : 1.7 : 7

0 : 1.7 : 7

Si-Si(~ 507 cm-1)

Si-Ge(~400 cm-1)

Ge-Ge(~282 cm-1)

Ge-Ge(~300 cm-1)

Ge-Ge(~287 cm-1)

Si-Ge(~404 cm-1)

Si-Si(~ 502 cm-1)

Tfil (o

C) Tsub (

o

C) 

HW125 1800 300 

HW126 2000 150 

HW127 2000 300 

HW124 1800 200 

HW130 2000 200 

HW131 2000 300 

HW129 1800 200 

HW128 1800 300 

HW136 2000 300 

HW135 2000 200 

HW134 1800 300 

HW133 1800 200 

Fig. 8-3: Raman spectra of SiGe and Ge films deposited with different Tfil, Tsub and gas mixtures. 

 The filament temperature Tfil and substrate temperature Tsub have influences on the film 

growth of amorphous and nanocrystalline phases. The Raman spectrum of sample HW127 

deposited at Tfil = 2000 and Tsub = 300 °C has a narrow Si-Si TO band centered at 507 cm-1 with 

a FWHM of only 7 cm-1, which indicates HW127 is nanocrystalline SiGe with nearly 79% 

volume fraction of nc-SiGe phase. With decreasing filament temperature Tfil and substrate 

temperature Tsub, as shown in the Raman spectrum of sample HW124 deposited at Tfil = 1800 

and Tsub = 200 °C, the Si-Si band width FWHM increases to 14 cm-1, meanwhile the left-side 

shoulder of Si-Si TO band rises. This indicates that HW124 is characteristic of nanocrystalline 

44
SiGe with mixed-phase contributions of a-SiGe:H and nc-SiGe, and the crystalline volume 

fraction is Xc ~ 60 %. 

 Fig. 8-4 shows the grazing incidence diffraction (GID) X-ray pattern of the SiGe film 

deposited on a quartz glass substrate at a Si2H6 flow rate of FSi2H6 = 3.4 sccm, GeH4 flow rate of 

FGeH4 = 1.7 sccm, H2 flow rate of FH2 = 7.0 sccm, a total process pressure of p = 2.5 mTorr, a 

substrate temperature of Tsub = 200 °C and a filament temperature Tfil = 1800°C for 10 min with 

a film thickness of d = 141 nm. In the GID X-ray spectrum, diffraction at the SiGe planes (111) 

centered at 2θ = 28.30°, (220) centered at 2θ = 46.96° and (311) centered at 2θ = 55.66° can be 

seen clearly. With comparing the relative peak heights of (220) and (311) peaks to (111) peak, it 

can be determined that the crystallites of this SiGe film are randomly distributed. With X-ray 

diffraction patterns the crystallite size dx-ray can be calculated from the Debye-Scherrer 

equation.[8] The crystallite size of this SiGe film calculated from the peak (111) is dx-ray = 17 

nm. 

0

4000

8000

12000

16000

10 20 30 40 50 60 70

2-Theta-Scale (Degree)

X-ray Intensity (a. u.)

(111)

(220)

(311)

 HW129

F[Si2H6] = 2.4 sccm

F[GeH4] = 1.7 sccm

F [H2] = 7 sccm

p = 2.5 mTorr

T [fil] = 1800 °C

T [sub] = 200 °C

t = 10 min

d = 141 nm, r = 2.35 Å/s

Fig. 8-4: The GID X-ray spectrum of the SiGe film deposited at FSi2H6 = 3.4 sccm, FGeH4

= 1.7 sccm, FH2 = 7.0 sccm, p = 2.5 mTorr, Tsub = 200 °C and Tfil = 1800°C for 10 min 

with a film thickness of d = 141 nm. 

8.3.3 Influence of filament length 

 The above described SiGe and Ge films all have been deposited using the coil-shaped 

filament Type L with a typically filament length of 100cm. The Raman results show that all 

these films are of dominant nanocrystalline phases with the crystalline volume fraction Xc > 80 

% even though the filament temperature is Tfil ~ 1800 °C and the substrate temperature as low as 

Tsub ~150 °C. The hydrogen content and bonding structure is determined from Fourier 

transform infrared (FTIR) absorption spectroscopy. The FTIR results show that the hot-wire ncSiGe films have very small hydrogen contents of < 2%, which are nearly undetectable by our 

FTIR system. 

45
 If the filament is replaced with the coil-shaped filament Type S with a typically filament 

length of 30 cm, the film structures and deposition rates are greatly changed although the other 

deposition parameters are maintained at same values. Using filament Type S instead of Type L, 

one set of four deposition runs is made at FSi2H6 = 3.4 sccm, FGeH4 = 1.7 sccm, FH2 = 7.0 sccm, t = 

15 min and p = 3.1 mTorr by setting Tsub = 200 °C and 300 °C, Tfil = 1800°C and 2000°C, 

respectively. The four depositions have a nearly same deposition rate of about 5.7 Å/s. Raman 

results show that the four samples are characteristic of nearly 100% amorphous SiGe phase. As 

shown in Fig. 8-5a, the Raman spectrum of a-SiGe layer deposited at Tsub = 200 °C and Tfil = 

1800°C consists of three main broad bands which are due to TO-mode Si-Si (~465 cm-1), Si-Ge 

(~370 cm-1) and Ge-Ge (~250 cm-1) vibrations. 

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

200 250 300 350 400 450 500 550

Raman Shift (cm^-1)

Raman Intensity (counts / 10 sec)

(a) 

-200

300

800

1300

1800

2300

2800

400 500 600 700 800 900

Wavenumber (cm^-1)

FTIR absorption (a.u.)

(b)

-200

0

200

400

600

800

1800 1900 2000 2100 2200

Wavenumber (cm^-1)

FTIR absorption (a.u.)

(c) 

Fig. 8-5: Raman and FTIR spectra of SiGe films deposited at FSi2H6=3.4 sccm, FGeH4=1.7 sccm, 

FH2=7.0 sccm, p=3.1 mTorr, Tsub = 200 °C and Tfil = 1800°C for 15 min using filament Type S. 

 Fig. 8-5b and Fig. 8-5c shows the FTIR absorption spectrum of this sample in the region 

of 400 – 800 cm-1 and 1800 – 2200 cm-1, respectively. The FTIR spectrum in 400 – 800 cm-1 

region has a peak centered at 640 cm-1 and a shoulder at 590 cm-1 corresponding to Si-H and GeH wagging modes respectively. A hydrogen content of about 7.6% is found out in this SiGe film 

by calculating the area under this curve in 400 – 800 cm-1 region. The FTIR spectrum in 1800 – 

2200 cm-1 region has a peak centered at 1992 cm-1 and a peak at 2086 cm-1 corresponding to Si-H 

46
and Si-H2 stretching modes respectively. A Si-H2/[Si-H+ Si-H2] ratio of 0.43 are determined in 

this film by calculating the area under the corresponding peaks in 1800 – 2200 cm-1 region. 

 From the Raman and FTIR results, it can be suggested that using the Filament Type L of 

100 cm long, the disilane/germane/hydrogen gas mixture of 3.4/1.7/7, 2.4/1.7/7 and 0/1.7/7 

corresponding to RH of 58% - 80%, has a high gas cracking efficiency resulting in the reaction 

area over the substrate with a high density of reactive hydrogen atoms , thus nanocrystalline 

SiGe films with high crystalline fractions of > 80% but with low hydrogen contents of < 2% are 

preferably grown. While the Filament Type S with a length of 30 cm has a relative lower gas 

cracking effect, as a result, only amorphous SiGe are preferably produced with the 

disilane/germane/hydrogen gas mixture ratio of 3.4/1.7/7. 

8.4 Summary 

 Nanocrystalline SiGe films deposited at a rate about 8 Å/s result in rough surfaces. The 

Raman spectrum of nanocrystalline SiGe films consist of three main peaks which are due to TOmode Si-Si (~500 cm-1), Si-Ge (~400 cm-1), Ge-Ge (~300 cm-1). Peak positions and intensities 

are sensitive to Si/Ge content in layers, which related to gas flow ratio of Si2H6/GeH4/H2. Using 

a filament of 100 cm long, nanocrystalline SiGe films with crystalline fractions of > 80% and 

low hydrogen contents of < 2% are preferably grown. Using a short filament with length of 

30cm, deposition of amorphous rather than nanocrystalline materials is obtained. The Raman 

spectrum of amorphous SiGe layer consists of three main broad bands which are due to TOmode Si-Si (~465 cm-1), Si-Ge (~370 cm-1), Ge-Ge (~250 cm-1). 

References: 

1. J. Yang, A. Banerjee, and S. Guha, Appl. Phys. Lett. 70, 2975 (1997). 

2. M. Lill and B. Schroeder, J. Appl. Phys. 74, 1284 (1999). 

3. Q. Wang, E. Iwaniczko, Y. Xu, W. Gao, B. P. Nelson, A. H. Mahan, R. S. Crandall, and H. M. Branz, 

MRS Spring Meeting Proc. 664, A4.3.1 (2000). 

4. R. E. I. Schropp, Y. Xu, E. Iwaniczko, G. A. Zacharias, A. H. Mahan, MRS Symp. Proc. 715, A26.3.1 

(2002). 

5. S. Klein, F. Finger, R. Carius, B. Rech, L. Houben, M. Luysberg, M. Stutzmann, MRS Symp. Proc. 715, 

A26.4 (2002). 

6. Herry S. Povolny, Doctoral Thesis “Amorphous and Microcrystalline Silicon Photovoltaic Devices 

Deposited by Hot-wire Chemical Vapor Deposition”, The University of Toledo (USA), March 2003. 

7. X. Deng, “High Efficiency and High Rate Deposited Amorphous Silicon-Based Solar Cells”, NREL 

Phase I Annual Technical Progress Report (Sept. 01, 2001 – Aug. 31, 2002), pp21-26. 

8. B. D. Cullity, Elements of X-Ray Diffraction, 2nd ed. (Addison-Wesley, Reading, MA, 1978), pp.281-284. 

47
9 Amorphous Silicon Deposited Using Trisilane as Precursor 

Contributors: W. Du, X. Yang and X. Deng, UT 

Mike Pikulin and John de Neufville, Voltaix. 

Abstract 

We explored the deposition of hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) and hydrogenated 

nanocrystalline silicon (nc-Si:H) using trisilane (Si3H8) gas as the silicon precursor in a plasma 

enhanced CVD process, to improve our understanding of the growth chemistry and the 

dependence of Si:H properties on the use of precursors. The film study shows that the transition 

from amorphous to amorphous/nanocrystalline mixed phase with increasing hydrogen dilution R 

(([H2]/[Si3H8]) or ([H2]/[Si2H6])) is more gradual for Si3H8-deposited Si:H as compared with 

disilane (Si2H6) deposited Si:H and for the former the transition occurs at a higher hydrogen 

dilution level R. The deposition rate of Si:H with different hydrogen dilution is more dependent 

on the atomic ratio of H to Si rather than the ratio of molecular hydrogen and silicon-containing 

precursors. Open circuit voltages (Voc) of a-Si:H single-junction n-i-p solar cells versus 

hydrogen dilution is used as a measure of nanocrystalline formtion in the i-layer. Highest Voc is 

obtained when a-Si:H films are deposited using Si3H8 at R~200 while highest Voc is obtained for 

Si2H6 at R~100. 

9.1 Introduction 

Various silicon precursors, including SiH4, Si2H6, SiF4, and SiH2Cl2, have been used for 

the deposition of a-Si:H (or a-Si) in a plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD, rf 

13.56 MHz) process. Among these different precursors, SiH4 and Si2H6 were found to produce aSi:H materials with the highest photovoltaic quality. Compared with SiH4, Si2H6 has higher 

dissociation rate in plasma and results in different concentrations of reactive species such as SiH3

in the plasma. Such a different concentrations of reactive SiH3 species, believed to be responsible 

for the growth of high quality a-Si:H, leads to different deposition rate and different optimal 

level of hydrogen dilution for the growth of high quality a-Si:H. 

When these silicon precursors are sufficiently diluted in hydrogen during PECVD process, 

nc-Si:H (or nc-Si), having grain size in the order of magnitude of 10nm, is often obtained. In the 

intermediate level of hydrogen dilution, a mixed phase with coexisting a-Si:H and nc-Si:H is 

usually obtained where nanometer sized Si crystals remain embedded in amorphous Si matrix. It 

is generally found that a-Si:H with highest stability under extended light illumination 

accompanied with reasonably high photosensitivity is often obtained at a hydrogen dilution level 

right below the transition from amorphous to mixed phase. A-Si:H deposited under these 

conditions are often referred to as “protocrystalline Si”, or “edge Si” materials. The range of 

optimal hydrogen dilution for the deposition of high-quality protocrystalline Si depends on the 

selection of Si precursor and other deposition conditions and is generally quite narrow. It also 

changes with the thickness of the a-Si:H film as well as the types of substrates. The sharp nature 

of transition region hinders reproducibility of the materials deposited within. It is desirable to 

48
have a silicon precursor that offers a wider range of hydrogen dilution for the deposition of high 

quality protocrystalline Si material. 

Trisilane, Si3H8, is another member of the silicon-hydrogen compound gasses. It has a 

different dissociation rate than SiH4 and Si2H6 in an rf plasma. It is expected that Si3H8 could 

lead to a higher concentration of SiH3 species in plasma when the gas is diluted in appropriate 

amount of hydrogen. This may lead to higher quality a-Si:H and/or wider window for the 

deposition of high quality a-Si:H. A systematic study of Si3H8 deposition of Si:H could lead to a 

deeper understanding of the nature of transition from amorphous to mixed and finally to 

nanocrystalline phase of Si:H during PECVD growth under high hydrogen dilution. Such a study 

may also lead to a-Si:H material with improved stability under extended illumination. In this 

work, the growth of Si:H near the transition region using Si3H8 and Si2H6 as the precursor gasses 

is studied. This comparative study is carried out by depositing and characterizing both single 

layer undoped films and solar cell devices. 

9.2 Experiment details 

 Trisilane is a pyrophoric liquid. For PECVD or CVD applications it can be supplied as a 

gas mixture or as the pure liquid. Due to its low vapor pressure (approximately 250 T at room 

temperature), for any large volume application, liquid packaging is required. This normally 

involves a conventional MOCVD "bubbler", essentially a container with a "dip-tube" – a tube 

immersed in the liquid - and two valves, one connected to the "head space", and the second 

connected to the dip-tube. A carrier gas is passed down the dip-tube, creating a stream of 

bubbles containing a gas mixture of trisilane in the carrier gas, which is removed via the head 

space valve. The concentration of trisilane in that mixture can be controlled by the temperature 

of the bubbler and the pressure of the carrier gas. 

 

 From a regulatory standpoint, Trisilane is not listed on the USEPA's Toxic Substances 

Control Act ("TSCA") Inventory. It is supplied by Voltaix under a "Low Volume Exemption" 

(40 CFR 723) and its use is restricted to the formation of silicon and silicon compounds. 

A-Si:H films and devices are grown in a multi-chamber PECVD system with a load lock 

chamber. In such a study, it is important to make sure that the measurement of the Si3H8 and 

Si2H6 gas flows is reliable. For this reason, the Si3H8 and Si2H6 gasses, both obtained from 

Voltaix, Inc., are introduced into the PECVD chamber via a common mass flow controller. The 

gas factors of the mass flow controller for Si3H8 and Si2H6 gasses were calibrated and verified by 

pressurizing the deposition chamber using Si3H8 and Si2H6 gasses separately, both through the 

same mass flow controller. In addition, the deposition of Si:H films and devices using Si3H8 and 

Si2H6 were carried out alternatively to avoid any unwanted effect due to the systematic and 

unknown drift, if any, of the deposition equipment and device processing procedures. 

While hydrogen dilution is changed during the growth of these films, the other deposition 

conditions are kept to be the same as the standard i-layer deposition conditions used for the 

deposition of high-quality a-Si:H solar cells in the same PECVD system. These conditions: 

substrate temperature Ts at 150oC, chamber pressure at 0.6Torr and rf power at 25mW/cm2

, are 

49
kept unchanged for films deposited using both Si3H8 and Si2H6. The hydrogen dilution R was 

varied from 71 to 286 and from 75 to 149 using Si3H8 and Si2H6 respectively. Various substrates, 

including quartz, glass (Corning 1737), c-Si wafer, and stainless steel foil, are used for Si:H 

deposition for various optical, electrical and structural characterization. The film thicknesses 

range from 250nm to 500nm. 

A-Si:H solar cells with n-i-p structure were deposited on Al/ZnO coated stainless steel. 

Intrinsic-layer deposition condition was the same as described above. The window p-layer was 

deposited at low Ts, about 70-100 oC, and high hydrogen dilution. ITO was sputtered on the player as transparent conductive coating. Light soaking was done under white light at 1 sun 

intensity and the ambient temperature was ~ 40-50 °C. 

Infrared absorption spectroscopy was measured for Si:H films deposited on c-Si substrate 

in the ranges from 400cm-1 to 800 cm-1 and from 1800cm-1 to 2400 cm-1 and with a resolution of 

0.33 cm-1. The integrated strength for the wagging mode at 640cm-1 was used to obtain the H 

content (at.%). The stretching modes at 2000cm-1 and 2100 cm-1 were used to obtain the 

microstructure factor R* in the film. Gaussian distribution was used to fit the absorption peaks. 

Transmission spectra were recorded using a Cary 5 spectrophotometer. Scanning range was from 

400nm to 2200nm. Thickness was calculated using the method described in the literature.[1] 

Raman scattering was performed to characterize the structure of Si:H films. 488nm laser line 

from a water-cooled Ar+ laser was used for the excitation. Photoconductivity was measured 

when the samples were annealed in a test chamber purged with N2. A pair of Ag electrodes, ~2 

mm apart, were painted on the films. Samples are heated to 180oC and the temperature 

dependence of dark conductivity is measured during the cooling process, from 180oC to 50oC. 

Activation energy was measured from a semilog plot (log σ vs 1000/T). Photoconductivity was 

measured using a ELH lamp at 100 mW/cm2 intensity at room temperature (25oC). 

9.3 RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS 

 Fig. 9-1 shows the deposition rate of intrinsic layers as a function of hydrogen dilution R. 

Film thickness was calculated from the transmission spectrum. The deposition rate of Si3H8

samples is higher than that of Si2H6 samples when the two films are deposited with the same R. 

As R is increased from 75 to 285 for Si3H8 samples, deposition rate is decreased from 0.45 Å/sec 

to 0.2 Å/sec. Lower deposition rate is observed for Si2H6 samples with the same R. In each 

series, smaller deposition rate is observed at higher dilution R. This decrease in deposition rate 

often accompanies with formation of nanocrystalline phase which is a more ordered structure. 

The increase in hydrogen dilution provides the required atomic hydrogen to etch out the 

disordered portion of the growing a-Si:H films and also provide the hydrogen coverage on the 

growing surface. Thus the deposition rate decreases and simultaneously these factors induce the 

propagation of nanocrystalline network in the films. It is additionally observed that, Rt, the 

hydrogen dilution level at which the transition from amorphous to an amorphous/nanocrystalline 

silicon mixed phase occurs, is higher for a-Si:H films deposited using Si3H8. Rt is around 200 for 

Si3H8 while Rt is around 150 for Si2H6. The deposition rate is also plotted against the atomic 

dilution ratio, Ra=[H]/[Si], which is the ratio of number of hydrogen and silicon atoms in the gas. 

Since Ra is identical to R for Si2H6, only deposition rate dependence on Ra for Si3H8 samples is 

50
added in Fig. 9-1, as solid triangle symbols. It is further observed that the deposition rate vs Ra

curves are approximately the same for both gasses. Therefore, the deposition rate is more 

influenced by the ratio of the total number of Si atoms to hydrogen atoms directed into the 

chamber rather than the number of Si-containing molecules. 

Fig. 9-1: Deposition rates of intrinsic a-Si:H film deposited under the conditions of RF power 

=25mW/cm2

 and Ts=150oC. Square symbols represent Si2H6 series and diamond symbols represent 

Si3H8 series; The solid triangles represent the relationship between deposition rates and Ra=[H]/[Si] 

for Si3H8 series. 

0.15

0.2

0.25

0.3

0.35

0.4

0.45

0.5

0 100 200 300

H2 dilution R 

Deposition Rate (A/sec)

It is widely known that high-quality a-Si:H material is often deposited near the transition 

region from amorphous to nanocrystalline via a hydrogen dilution mediated path. A material 

deposited near such a transition region is sometimes referred to as protocrystalline or “edge” 

material. In order to find Rt for both Si2H6 and Si3H8, a-Si:H films are deposited on a variety of 

substrates at different R. Si3H8-deposited films in this study are deposited with R (H2

(sccm):Si3H8(sccm)) of: 71 (50:0.7); 107 (75:0.7); 143 (100:0.7); 179 (100:0.56), 213 (100:0.47) 

and 286 (100:0.35). Si2H6-deposited films in this study are deposited with R 

(H2(sccm):Si2H6(sccm)) of 75 (75:1); 100 (100:1); 125 (100:0.8); and 149 (100:0.67). Figures 9-

2a and 9-2b show the Raman spectra of two series of films deposited using Si3H8 and Si2H6, 

respectively. 

51
420 470 520

Raman shift (cm-1)

intensity

(a) 

420 470 520

Raman shift (cm-1)

intensity

(b) 

Fig. 9-2: Raman spectra of the series of sample deposited using Si3H8 (2a) and Si2H6 (2b). In Fig. 9-

2a, curves from bottom to top are for Si:H deposited with R=143, 179, 213, and 286. In Fig. 9-2b, 

curves from bottom to top are for a-Si:H deposited with R=75; 100; 125; and 150. 

Table 9-1: Volume fraction of nanocrystalline silicon phase estimated from Raman spectra for two 

series of sample. Thicknesses of samples are also included in the Table. 

Sample 

No 

Gas 

precursor 

Gas flow Ratio Thickness nc –Si:H 

volume frac. 

(sccm) R (nm) (%) 

GD1003 Si2H6 1:75 75 176 N.A. 

GD1002 Si2H6 1:100 100 165 N.A. 

GD1004 Si2H6 0.8:100 125 195 13.6 

GD1005 Si2H6 0.67:100 149 209 37.8 

GD1010 Si3H8 0.7:100 143 234 N.A. 

GD1006 Si3H8 0.56:100 179 340 2.8 

GD1009 Si3H8 0.47:100 213 261 17.7 

GD1007 Si3H8 0.35:100 286 273 57.2 

Table 9-1 shows the volume fraction of nc-Si:H phase calculated using approaches 

described in the literature[2]. Fig. 9-2a shows that at R=143, the material is still amorphous while 

at R=179 formation of a-Si:H/nc-Si:H mixed phase starts. The volume fraction of the nc-Si:H 

phase calculated from the peak intensity is 2.8%. Therefore, Rt is between 143 and 179 for Si3H8. 

For Si2H6-deposited samples, Fig. 9-2b indicates that Rt is between 100 and 125, lower than that 

of Si3H8. It should be noted that Sample GD1006 with R=179 is thicker than other films such as 

GD1002. Under a high R, thicker a-Si:H is more likely to have nc-Si:H phase [3] It is likely that 

Rt for Si3H8-deposited films is higher than 179 if the film thickness would be around 170nm (as 

52
in GD1002), which is typical for the i-layer of a-Si:H top component cell in a triple-junction 

solar cell. As to be described later, solar cells made with Si3H8 at R=179 showed high Voc, 

indicating that Rt is greater than 179 for Si3H8-deposited films with around 170nm thickness. 

These Raman studies suggest that R~100 and R~180, for Si2H6 and Si3H8, respectively, may be 

optimum for deposition of a-Si:H solar cell intrinsic layers with thickness around150 to 200 nm. 

The films described in Fig. 9-2 and Table 9-1 were also evaluated using Raman with 

excitation light through the quartz substrates. Such a measurement reveals the structure of the 

film grown during initial stage of the deposition. Raman scattering measurement show that the aSi:H materials deposited on glass or quartz substrates during the initial stage of deposition is 

amorphous for all these samples described in Table 9-1 and Fig. 9-2. 

Activation energy Ea was calculated from temperature dependence of dark conductivity 

using σ=σ0exp(-Ea/kT). For undoped or n-type a-Si:H, Ea is approximately the energy difference 

between the Fermi level and the conduction band edge. Fig. 9-3 shows the activation energy as a 

function of hydrogen dilution R for both Si3H8- and Si2H6-deposited samples. For Si3H8-

deposited samples, Ea is decreased from 0.85 eV at low R to 0.5 eV at high R. This decrease is 

believed to be due to the narrowing of the bandgaps of the deposited materials when there is a 

higher volume fraction of nc-Si:H phase in the sample. Similar trend is observed for Si2H6

deposited films. A major difference between the two series of films is that Ea for Si2H6 samples 

decreases rapidly when R is increased to 150 while Ea for Si3H8 samples decreases gradually, 

over a larger range of R, when R is increased to ~250. The gradual change in Ea with increasing 

R may suggest that the range of R for the deposition of a-Si:H/nc-Si:H mixed phase is broader. 

The exact nature for such a difference between Si3H8 and Si2H6 is unclear. 

0.30

0.40

0.50

0.60

0.70

0.80

0.90

1.00

50 100 150 200 250 300

H2 dilution R

Ea (eV)

disilane

trisilane

Fig. 9-3: Activation energy of a-Si:H films made using Si2H6 and Si3H8 as a function of hydrogen 

dilution R. 

Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) was used to measure the content of bonded 

hydrogen in these Si:H films as well as the amount of hydrogen in different bonding 

53
environment. A microstructure factor, R*, defined as the fraction of hydrogen in dihydride form 

among all hydrogen incorporated in the film, is calculated from the integrated strength of the 

2100cm-1 peak and 2000cm-1 peak (R*= I (2100 cm-1)/ [I (2100 cm-1)+I(2000 cm-1)]).[4] The 

microstructure factor R* is plotted against dilution R for Si3H8 and Si2H6 deposited films in Fig. 

9-4. 

Fig. 9-4 shows that for both series of films, R* decreases initially and increases again at 

higher R. The initial decrease is associated with the reduction of undesirable micro-voids in the 

films. The increase in R* at higher dilution R is believed to be associated with the nc-Si:H 

formation--hydrogen at grain boundaries bonds to Si mostly in dihydride form. In addition to 

these general trends, there are noticeable difference in the R* vs R between the two series of 

films. The increase in R* occurs at a higher R for Si3H8-deposited films, indicating that Rt is 

higher for Si3H8. It is interesting to notice that for films deposited without hydrogen dilution 

(R=0), R* is lower for Si3H8 films. This is unexpected because the atomic ratio of H to Si is 

lower in Si3H8 than Si2H6. The lower R* (at R=0) for Si3H8 suggests that Si3H8 is dissociated in 

plasma into a form that is more desirable for the formation of dense a-Si:H. However, one needs 

to be cautious in drawing a general conclusion based on these results since other deposition 

conditions such as rf power, chamber pressure, substrate temperature may impact R* at R=0. 

0

0.1

0.2

0.3

0.4

0.5

0.6

0.7

0 50 100 150 200 250

H2 dilution R

R*

disilane

trisilane

Fig. 9-4: Microstructure factor R* as a function of hydrogen dilution R. 

Bonded hydrogen content in the Si:H films is estimated from the integrated peak strength 

of the Si-H wagging mode (640 cm-1). Fig. 9-5 shows the H content in the a-Si:H films for both 

series. For Si2H6 samples, H content is approximately 15-20 at.% at R~100. For Si3H8 samples, 

H content is approximately 20% at R~150, and decreases down to 6% at R>250. The absolute 

value of H content depends on the calibration factor used and the values in Fig. 9-5 may not be 

accurate in the absolute scale. However, relative change in H content is believed to be 

reproducible. 

54
0

5

10

15

20

25

50 100 150 200 250 300

H2 dilution R

H(%)

disilane

trisilane

Fig. 9-5: H content estimated from FTIR spectra as a function of H2 dilution R. 

Fig. 9-6 shows photosensitivity of these a-Si:H films, which is the ratio of 

photoconductivity under 1 sun illumination and the dark-conductivity. The photosensitivity 

decreases with increased volume fraction of nc-Si:H phase due to the defects near the grain 

boundaries. The highest photosensitivity, 1×106, occurs at R~100, or Rt, for Si2H6 samples. The 

photosensitivity then decreases with increasing R, indicating the increase of nanocrystalline 

fraction in the material. The highest photosensitivity is nearly the same for the two series of 

samples. However, the decrease in photosensitivity at R>Rt is more gradual for Si3H8, similar to 

the gradual decrease in its activation energy. 

1.00E+00

1.00E+01

1.00E+02

1.00E+03

1.00E+04

1.00E+05

1.00E+06

1.00E+07

0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350

H2 dilution R

Photosensitivity

disilane

trisilane

Fig. 9-6: Photosensitivity of a-Si:H films deposited using Si2H6 and Si3H8 as a function of hydrogen 

dilution. 

55
Results in Fig. 9-6 indicate that when Si3H8 is used for the deposition of Si, the transition 

from amorphous to nanocrystalline is more gradual as compared with that for Si2H6. In other 

words, the H dilution range for mixed phase is broader when Si3H8 is used. Material with optimal 

optoelectronic performance is grown with R~180 at Ts~150 °C when Si3H8 is used. These 

materials have similar properties to those materials deposited using Si2H6 with R~100. 

In order to further verify the findings from this materials study, two series of solar cells 

were fabricated using Si3H8 and Si2H6 with different hydrogen dilution R for the i-layers. When 

all other device parameters are kept the same, Voc of the solar cells are directly related to the ilayer bandgap. When appropriate level of R is used and the Si:H is near the transition from 

amorphous to mixed phase, Voc is the highest. At higher R, Voc drops due to the formation of 

nc-Si:H in the i-layer. 

Fig. 9-7 shows the Voc of solar cells as a function of R for i-layers made using Si3H8 and 

Si2H6 at different R. For Si2H6 devices, Voc reaches its highest value (1.014V) at R~100, while 

for Si3H8 devices, Voc reaches its highest value (1.010V) at R~180. These results on solar cell 

devices are consistent with the findings in the materials study of single-layer films deposited on 

glass. Both series of solar cells, with ~200nm thick i-layers, were illuminated with white light at 

1 sun intensity. After 100 hours of light soaking, Si3H8 devices degraded 11.7% and Si2H6

devices degraded 13.2%. These degradations are considered to be the same within experimental 

variations. 

0

0.2

0.4

0.6

0.8

1

1.2

0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400

ratio of H2/Si2H6 or H2/Si3H8

Voc (v)

disilane

trisilane

Fig. 9-7: Open circuit voltage versus H2 dilution for Si2H6 and Si3H8 devices. 

56
9.4 SUMMARY 

 Si:H films and solar cells deposited using Si3H8 and using Si2H6 are compared. At the 

same hydrogen dilution, Si3H8 leads to higher deposition rate. However, at the same atomic ratio 

of hydrogen and silicon, the deposition rate of Si:H using Si3H8 and Si2H6 is approximately the 

same. The deposition rate is more influenced by the ratio of the total number of Si atoms to 

hydrogen atoms introduced into the chamber rather than the number of Si-containing molecules. 

Measurement of activation energy, microstructure and photosensitivity indicate that 1) the 

transition from amorphous to amorphous/nanocrystalline mixed phase occurs at a higher 

hydrogen dilution level when Si3H8 is used; and 2) the transition from amorphous to mixed phase 

is more gradual for Si3H8 as compared with Si2H6. When appropriate level of R is used and the 

a-Si:H is near the transition from amorphous to mixed phase, Voc is the highest. At higher R, Voc

decreases due to the formation of nc-Si:H in the i-layer. For Si2H6 devices, Voc reaches its 

highest value (1.014V) at R~100, while for Si3H8 devices, Voc reaches its highest value (1.010V) 

at R~180. These results on solar cell devices are consistent with the findings in the materials 

study of single-layer films deposited on glass. 

References 

1. R. Swanepoel, J physics.E Sci.instrum. Vol 16,1983 p1914-1922. 

2. H. Shanks etc. Phys. Stat. Sol (B) 100,43 (1980). 

3. A. Ferlauto, R. Koval, C. Wronski, R. Collins, Appl. Phys. Lett. 80, 2666 (2002). 

4. M. H. Brodsky, M. Cardona, J. J. Cuomo, Phy. Rev. B 16 (1977) 3556. 

57
10 Fine-Grained Nanocrystalline Silicon p-Layer for High-Voc a-Si:H 

Solar Cells 

Contributors: 

Univ. of Toledo: Wenhui Du, Xianbo Liao, Xiesen Yang, Xianbi Xiang and Xunming Deng 

Univ. of Michigan: Kai Sun 

Abstract 

Amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) single-junction solar cells with high open circuit voltage (Voc), 

up to 1.04 V, are routinely fabricated at the University of Toledo (UT) using a wide bandgap 

boron doped Si:H p-layer deposited at high hydrogen dilution and low substrate temperature and 

with a seed layer that promotes nanocrystalline silicon (nc-Si:H) formation. 

It is important to understand the exact nanostructure of the p-type material used at UT and 

other laboratories to produce high-Voc solar cells. In an earlier paper, we reported our 

preliminary finding that these p-type materials used in UT’s high-Voc solar cells are fine-grained 

nc-Si:H, based on a modeling study using AMPS. In this paper, we report our further 

investigation of the nanostructure of this p-type material using High Resolution Transmission 

Electron Microscope (HRTEM), which allows us to directly measure the nanostructure of the 

films, ~15nm thick, deposited on a-Si substrates. It is found from the HRTEM studies that the player used at UT to obtain high-Voc a-Si solar cells is a mixed-phase material that contains finegrained nc-Si:H embedded in an a-Si:H matrix. It is further concluded that the mixed phase player with a higher volume fraction of nc-Si:H phase, within the range studied, leads to a higher 

Voc. The optimum p-layer material for nip-type a-Si:H solar cells is neither at the onset of the 

transition between amorphous to (amorphous and nanocrystalline) mixed phase nor a 

nanocrystalline/microcrystalline material with a high volume fraction of crystalline phase. 

10.1 Introduction 

Amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) single-junction solar cells with high open circuit voltage (Voc), 

up to 1.04 V, are routinely fabricated at the University of Toledo (UT) using a wide bandgap 

boron doped Si:H p-layer deposited at high hydrogen dilution and low substrate temperature and 

with a seed layer that promotes nanocrystalline silicon (nc-Si:H) formation [1]. There are several 

reports in the literature that provide conflicting suggestions about the structure of a p-type 

materials deposited under similar conditions [2, 3]. It is important to understand the exact 

nanostructure of the p-type material used at UT and other laboratories to produce high-Voc solar 

cells. Unfortunately, it is challenging to obtain results that lead to a definite conclusion since on 

one hand, the p-layer Si:H material, ~15nm thick, is deposited on an a-Si substrate in an a-Si n-ip type solar cell and the commonly used methods to determine the nanostructure of these 

materials require the films to be at least 100nm in thickness and are deposited on glass or 

crystalline Si substrates while on the other hand, the nanostructure of the thin film Si:H based 

58
material depends sensitively on the substrates and the thickness in addition to the deposition 

conditions such as hydrogen dilution and substrate temperature. In an earlier paper, we reported 

our preliminary finding that these p-type materials used in UT’s high-Voc solar cells are finegrained nc-Si:H, based on a modeling study using AMPS [4]. In this paper, we report our further 

investigation of the nanostructure of this p-type material using High Resolution Transmission 

Electron Microscope (HRTEM), which allows us to directly measure the nanostructure of the 

films, ~15nm thick, deposited on a-Si substrates. 

10.2 Experimental 

 A-Si:H solar cells are deposited using RF-PECVD on stainless steel covered with an 

Al/ZnO back reflector. The n- and i-layers are deposited under the conditions reported earlier [1] 

and these are the same conditions used in the fabrication of high-efficiency triple-junction solar 

cells at UT [5]. These p-layers are deposited using a high hydrogen dilution, high rf power, and a 

low substrate temperature, and with a seed layer to promote nanocrystalline Si:H formation. 

 Raman scattering is performed to characterize the structure of films. The 488-nm laser 

line from a water-cooled Ar+ laser is used for the excitation. The samples used for Raman study 

are approximately 350 nm thick and are deposited on glass substrates. Optical transmission is 

also measured for these samples. Raman spectra are measured from both the front side of the 

films as well as the back side of films through the glass substrates. 

 For HRTEM, a Jeol 2010 STEM microscope is used. The samples for the HRTEM study 

are 15nm-thick boron-doped p-layer deposited on a 15nm-thick intrinsic a-Si:H layer that is 

grown under the same conditions as the intrinsic layer in a high-Voc a-Si:H solar cell. The Si:H 

layers, with a combined thickness of 30nm, are first deposited on a glass substrate and then 

peeled off from the substrates using diluted hydrofluoride acid for the HRTEM measurement. 

10.3 Results and Discussions 

 Figure 10-1(a) shows the Raman spectrum of a 350 nm thick p-layer deposited on a glass 

substrate. The spectrum is deconvoluted into three major peaks, located at 480cm-1, 514 cm-1 

and around 500cm-1, corresponding to the amorphous phase, the nanocrystalline phase and the 

grain boundary interfaces, respectively. According a bond polarizability model [6], a 514cm-1 

Raman peak corresponds to a nc-Si with mean nanocrystalline grain size of approximately 2.1 

nm. We believe that the actual grain size may be larger than this value since the phonon 

confinement effect may be overestimated in using this model without considering the existence 

of tensile stress in the film.[7] 

Since the 350nm sample is thicker than the 15nm layer used in an actual solar cell, the 

nanostructure of the sublayer probed by Raman may have higher volume fraction of 

nanocrystalline phase than the initial 15nm deposited on the substrate. To effectively measure the 

nanostructure of the film initially deposited on the substrate, we measured Raman spectra also 

from the back side of the sample, through the glass substrate. The results are shown in Figure 1b. 

59
Raman spectrum taken through the glass substrate shows a smaller crystalline volume fraction. 

However, the deconvoluted peaks still shows a 514cm-1 Raman scattering peak, indicating the 

existence of fine-grained nc-Si during the initial growth of the film when it is deposited on glass. 

(a) (b) 

Fig.10-1: The Raman spectra taken from (a) the front side surface and (b)the back side of the player through the glass substrate. 

 One may still question the results from Raman spectrum obtained through the glass 

substrate because 1) at 488nm laser line, the Raman scattering may be from the sublayer of the 

film that is up to 100 nm thick which corresponds to the absorption depth for this laser line; and 

2) the initial film is deposited on glass and therefore may have different nanostructure than those 

films deposited on a-Si substrate as in an n-i-p type solar cell. 

 In order to characterize the thin p-layer in a solar cell, HRTEM was performed on a 15-

nm thick p-layer (Sample A) grown on a 15-nm intrinsic a-Si:H layer, which was deposited 

under identical conditions as those used in solar cells. Figure 10-2a shows a high-angle annular 

dark-field (HAADF) image, exhibiting many separated bright dots which are characteristics of 

nanocrystalline Si. Most of these bright dots, the nc-Si:H grains, have a size of around 3 to 5 nm, 

which is larger than the size estimated from Raman measurement. Figure 10-2a also shows that 

several large white dots are the clusters of 3 or 4 crystalline grains. Figure 10-2b is the selectedarea electron diffraction (SAED), showing a diffraction pattern with crystalline feature for the 

area probed. 

We deposited another p-layer (Sample B) on a-Si under the same conditions described 

above but without the seed layer that promotes nc-Si growth. Such a p-layer usually leads to an 

a-Si:H solar cell with approximately 20mV less in Voc. Fig. 10-2c shows a HAADF image of 

Sample B, exhibiting smaller volume fraction of nanocrystalline grains. In order to show that 

these white dots on Samples A and B are indeed nanocrystalline grains, nano-electron diffraction 

(NED) was measured for one of the bright dots in Fig. 10-2c (a grain in Sample B) and the result 

is shown in Fig. 10-2d. The interference fringes near the center indicate the white dots 

60
correspond to crystalline structure. Comparing the HAADF images of Samples A and B shown 

in Fig. 10-2a and Fig. 10-2b, respectively, it is concluded that a p-layer material with higher 

volume fraction of nc-Si:H phase leads to a higher Voc in an a-Si n-i-p type solar cell. 

Fig. 10-2: a) and b) are HAADF and SAED images of the Sample A with a seed layer between the pand i-layer; c) and d) are HAADF and NED images of the Sample B which has a slightly less Voc. 

 Another p-layer, Sample C, was deposited under a similar condition as Sample A but 

with higher rf power. Raman spectrum measured from both the front and backside on glass 

shows that this p-layer material is amorphous without any observable nc-Si:H phase. When this 

p-type material is used in an nip a-Si:H solar cell, it leads to a Voc of 0.98V, less than the p-type 

materials that contains fine-grained nc-Si:H. 

 A-Si:H nip solar cells, incorporating above-described nc-Si:H p-layers, are fabricated on 

stainless steel substrates coated with a Al/ZnO back reflector. The solar cells fabricated using 

61
Sample A deposition conditions for the p-layer show an average Voc of 1.040 V. The cells with 

the highest performance show a Voc of 1.042 V, a fill factor of 0.734, a short circuit current of 

11.6 mA/cm2, and an efficiency of 10.03 %. 

10.4 Conclusion 

 The p-layer used at UT to obtain high-Voc a-Si solar cells is a mixed–phase material that 

contains nc-Si:H grains, ~3-5 nm in size, embedded in an a-Si:H matrix. Comparing HAADF 

images of two samples (Samples A and B), it is concluded that the mixed phase p-layer with a 

higher volume fraction of nc-Si:H phase, within the range studied, leads to a higher Voc. The 

optimum p-layer material for nip-type a-Si:H solar cells is neither at the onset of the transition 

between amorphous to (amorphous and nanocrystalline) mixed phase nor a 

nanocrystalline/microcrystalline material with a high volume fraction of crystalline phase. 

References 

1. X. Deng, Annual Subcontract Progress Report submitted from UT to NREL under Thin Film Partnership 

Program NDJ-2-30630-08, Phase I Report (2002) and Phase II Report (2003). 

2. S. Guha, J. Yang, P. Nath, and M. Hack, Appl. Phys. Lett. 49, 218 (1986). 

3. R. J. Koval, Chi Chen, G. M. Ferreira, A. S. Ferlauto, J. M. Pearce, P. I. Rovira, C. R. Wronski, and R. W. 

Collinsa, Appl. Phys. Lett. 81, 1258 (2002). 

4. X. Liao, W. Wang and X. Deng, Proc. 29th IEEE-PVSC, 1234 (2002) 

5. W. Wang, H. Povolny, W. Du, X. Liao and X. Deng, Proc. 29th IEEE-PVSC, 1082 (2002). 

6. J. Zi, H. Buescher, C. Falter, W. Ludwig, K. Zhang and X. Xie, Appl. Phys. Lett. 69, 200 (1996). 

7. V. Paillard, P. Puech, R. Sirvin, S. Hamma and P. Roca i Cabarrocas, J. Appl. Phys. 90, 3276 (2001). 

B

62
11 Hydrogenated Nanocrystalline Silicon p-Layer in a-Si:H n-i-p Solar 

Cells 

Contributors: 

Univ. of Toledo: W. Du, X. Liao, X.Yang, H. Povolny, X. Xiang, and X. Deng 

Univ. of Michigan: K. Sun 

Overview 

In the Quarterly report (12/1/03-2/28/04), we discussed the dependence of a-Si nip solar 

cell Voc on the structure of the p-layer, covering the transition from amorphous Æ

protocrystalline Æ nanocrystalline+amorphous (nc+a) mixed phase. It is concluded that higher 

Voc is obtained when the p-layer is made with fine-grained nc-Si mixed with a-Si phase. In this 

Quarterly report, we discuss the dependence of a-Si nip solar cell Voc on the structure of the player, covering the transition from (nc+a) mixed phase Æ microcrystalline silicon. It is 

concluded that Voc drops significantly when the microcrystalline silicon p-layer is used. 

Abstract 

This paper investigates the impacts of hydrogenated nanocrystalline silicon (nc-Si:H) player on the photovoltaic parameters, especially the open circuit voltage (Voc) of n-i-p type 

hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) solar cells. Raman scattering spectroscopy and 

transmission electron microscopy (TEM) analyses indicate that this p-layer is a diphasic material 

that contains nanocrystalline grains with size around 3-5 nm embedded in an amorphous silicon 

matrix. Optical transmission measurements show that the nc-Si p-layer has a wide bandgap of 

1.96 eV, due to the quantum confinement effects (QCE). Using this kind of p-layer in n-i-p aSi:H solar cells, the cell performances were improved with a Voc of 1.042 V, while the solar cell 

deposited under a similar condition but incorporating a hydrogenated microcrystalline silicon 

(μc-Si:H) p-layer leads to a Voc of 0.526 V. 

11.1 Introduction 

The limiting factors of open circuit voltage of a-Si:H solar cells have been an interesting 

topic since a-Si:H alloys became a viable material for photovoltaic devices. Theoretical 

considerations expected that recombination originating from band tail states puts a fundamental 

limit on the output voltage of p-i-n a-Si:H solar cells, and the maximum Voc calculated from the 

difference between the electron and hole quasi-Fermi levels in the intrinsic (i) layer is 1.0 ± 0.1 

V.1

 Experimentally, using high hydrogen dilution or hydrogen-plasma treatment, a-Si:H solar 

cells with Voc greater than 1.0 V could be fabricated,2,3 which is well consistent with the above 

theoretical estimation. 

63
However, it is noted that this estimate holds only for the situation when the built-inpotential in the i layer, set up by the doped (p and n) layers, is greater than the difference 

between the electron and hole quasi-Fermi levels. In fact, the doping layers, especially the player acting as a window layer in both superstrate and substrate structures, have great influences 

on Voc available in practical devices. 

It was reported that using a μc-Si:H p-layer in a-Si:H n-i-p cells with a substrate structure 

on stainless steel (SS), the cell performance could be improved through an increase in the built-in 

potential of the junction and a decrease in the series resistance.4

 However, using a μc-Si:H player in a-Si:H p-i-n cell with a superstrate structure on SnO2 coated glass, it could induce a 

disastrous effect on the open circuit voltage and the fill factor (FF).5 In a recent report, R. J. 

Koval et al argued that 10-20 nm thick p-layers prepared on i-layers under certain conditions 

may be amorphous even at hydrogen dilution values as high as 200, due to a possible barrier for 

microcrystal nucleation on an amorphous i-layer surface.6 Moreover, they proposed that the 

maximum Voc is obtained by incorporating p-type doped Si:H layers that are protocrystalline in 

nature, and even relatively low substrate-induced microcrystalline fractions in the p-layer are 

detrimental.6 

The question is why the use of a microcrystalline p-layer is detrimental for a-Si:H cell 

performances? An explanation was that this is due to the narrow bandgap (Eg) of μc-Si:H p-layer 

and a barrier at the p/i interface caused by the band offset between microcrystalline p-layer and 

amorphous i-layer.5 This suggestion was confirmed by our simulation results,7 using AMPS 

model developed at Penn State University.8

 Indeed, a “good” μc-Si:H p-layer with a large mean 

grain size (i.e., greater than 20 nm) and a large crystalline fraction should have a bandgap close 

to ~1.1 eV, the one of bulk crystalline silicon. However, if we could make a μc-Si:H p-layer with 

a wide bandgap, what will happen to the cells? And how can we make such a p-layer? One way 

to achieve a wide band gap p-layer is to use the QCE, i.e., to make μc-Si:H which comprise small 

Si nanocrystals embedded in an amorphous Si-H matrix. In this case the energy bangap of μcSi:H should be enlarged by the QCE. In the following we prefer to use the term “nanocrystalline 

silicon”, instead of “microcrystalline silicon” for such a kind of material. On the basis of the 

foregoing considerations it is appropriate in the present letter to identify the different effects of 

nc-Si:H and μc-Si:H p-layers on the performances of a-Si:H n-i-p cells. 

11.2 Experimental 

The p-layer samples were prepared using conventional rf (13.56 MHz) PECVD and a gas 

mixture of SiH4, BF3 and H2 in an ultrahigh-vacuum, multi-chamber, load-locked deposition 

system. For growing nc-Si:H p-layers we used a high hydrogen dilution (H2/SiH4=166) and a 

high gas pressure of 2 Torr as well as a high power density of 1.0 W/cm2 at a low substrate 

temperature of 70 °C. To increase microcrystallinity in the μc-Si p-layers, the deposition 

parameters were changed to a higher hydrogen dilution (H2/SiH4=200), a low gas pressure of 0.6 

Torr as well as a low power density of 35mW/cm2

 at 200 °C. Samples for use in a-Si:H n-i-p 

cells have a structure of SS/Al/ZnO/n-a-Si:H/i-a-Si:H/p-Si:H/ITO, with a protocrystalline i-layer 

deposited using a gas mixture of Si2H6 and H2 at a high hydrogen dilution (H2/Si2H6=100) at 

200°C. To enhance the formation of nanocrystalline nucleation sites for the p-layer deposition, 

64
we inserted a seed layer between the p- and i-layer in the samples. For analyses of the optical and 

structural properties the p-layer samples were deposited on Corning 7059 glass using the 

identical conditions as used in the solar cells, but with different deposition times. The formation 

of silicon nanocrystals and their mean grain size in the samples were characterized by Raman 

scattering and TEM. In view of the fact that microcrystalline growth is sensitive to the substrate 

material and the accumulated thickness,9 we also made a thin sub-seed and i-layer (15 nm) 

before the p-layer deposition on Corning 7059 glass, simulating the p/i interface structure of the 

cell samples, and took the Raman signals from both sides, the front surface and the back surface 

through the glass substrate. 

11.3 Results and Discussions 

The obtained Raman spectra for the nc-Si:H and μc-Si:H p-layer samples are given in 

Fig.1, which were recorded near backscattering geometry using an Ar+

 laser operating at a 

wavelength of 488 nm and a double monochrometer in the silicon TO mode region. Curve (a) of 

Fig.1 shows the Raman spectrum of the μc-Si p-layer sample (~50 nm thick). This curve has a 

sharp peak at 521 cm-1, which is typical for bulk crystalline Si. Curve (b) and (c) of Fig.1 are the 

spectra of the nc-Si:H p-layer sample (~350 nm thick), taken from the front surface and the back 

surface through the glass substrate, respectively. As generally observed with nc-Si:H, two peaks 

appear in the spectra, a broad peak at 480 cm-1, which is characteristic of amorphous Si and a 

sharp peak at 514 cm-1, which is characteristic of Si nanocrystals. It is seen that Curve (b) is 

dominated by the sharp peak at 514 cm-1, while Curve (c) comprises a broad peak at 480 cm-1

and a small shoulder at ~514cm-1, demonstrating the reported dependence of crystallinity on the 

accumulated thickness.9 The Gaussian deconvolution of the two Raman spectra data are listed in 

table 1, including the peak position (Pk), the peak area (A) of the TO modes and the volume 

crystalline fraction (C), which was determined using the ratio of peak area of crystalline to that 

of amorphous inclusions with a cross section ratio of 0.9.10 As can be seen that the Raman 

spectrum taken from the backside shows a less volume crystalline fraction, although it has nearly 

the same Raman redshift of 7 cm-1 with respect to the TO phonon mode in bulk crystalline Si. 

From this Raman redshift, we deduced the mean nanocrystal size to be 2.1 nm or 2.5 nm, 

according to a bond polarizability model of J. Zi et al.,11 or a modified phonon confinement 

model of Campbell and Fauchet.12,13 These estimated sizes might be smaller than the actual sizes, 

due to an overestimate of the phonon confinement effect without considering the existence of 

tensile stress in the film.14 

Table 11-1: Gaussion deconvolution of the Raman spectra of Curve (b) and Curve (c) in Fig.1, 

including the peak position (Pk) and the peak area (A) of the TO modes for crystalline (TOc), 

amorphous (TOa) and interfacial (TOi) inclusions. The volume crystalline fraction (C) is also listed. 

TOc TOi TOa C 

nc-Si p-layer Pk(cm-1) A(a.u.) Pk(cm-1) A(a.u.) Pk(cm-1) A(a.u.) 

Top surface 514.2 87653 500.1 51031 480.2 194436 0.44 

Back surface 514.0 52662 500.6 70339 480.3 228673 0.37 

65
420 440 460 480 500 520 540

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

160

(c)

(b)

(a)

Intensity (a.u.)

Raman Shift (cm-1)

Fig. 11-1: Raman spectra of the μc-Si:H p-layer (Curve a) and the nc-Si:H p-layer samples taken from 

the front surface (Curve b) and the back surface (Curve c) th 

In order to characterize the crystallization in a very thin p-layer, a JEOL 2010F 

STEM/TEM microscope was used. The films were lifted off from glass substrate by etching with 

a diluted HF solution and supported by a copper TEM grids. The thin p-layer sample has a 

hybrid, stacked structure, comprising a 15 nm thick p-layer on a 15 nm i-layer with a seed layer 

in between, which was deposited under identical conditions as those used in solar cells. Fig. 11-

2(a) shows a high-angle annular dark-field (HAADF) image of the sample, where many 

separated bright dots were observed, which represent nanocrystalline particles. Most of the 

particles are ranging from 3 to 5 nm, larger than the estimated values from Raman study. Several 

large white dots in this figure are the clusters of 3 or 4 crystalline particles. In the insert a 

selected-area electron diffraction (SAED) is illustrated, indicating diffraction pattern with 

crystalline feature for the area probed. Fig. 11-2(b) shows a high-resolution electron microscopy 

(HREM) image, exhibiting the lattice image. The interference fringes separated by 0.31 nm 

correspond to the spacing of Si (111) planes of the nanocrystals. Fig. 11-2 (c) is a nano electron 

diffraction (NED) taken from one of the bright dots indicating the crystalline nature of the 

particle. These images clearly demonstrate that the p-layer deposited at a low substrate 

temperature and a high hydrogen dilution contains nanocrystalline Si particles of 3-5 nm in size. 

We estimated the effective energy bandgap of these Si nanocrystals should be enlarged to 2.3-1.9 

eV, if it is treated as isolated spherical quantum dots saturated with hydrogen, based on the 

density-function approach of B. Delley and E.F. Steigmeier.15 In fact the optical transmittance 

measurements performed on the same nc-Si:H p-layer sample used in the Raman scattering (Fig. 

11-1) show that its Tauc optical bandgap is about 1.96 eV, confirming that the nc-Si:H p-layer 

indeed possesses a wide bandgap. However, one could not simply compare the Tauc bandgap 

66
value with the above theoretical estimate, because the former is an effective bandgap width of a 

diphasic material with an indirect gap, while the latter is for isolated Si quantum dots. 

Effectiveness of a thin nc-Si:H p-layer for a solar cell can be most convincingly judged in 

a cell configuration. We prepared n-i-p a-Si:H solar cells at a similar condition but using a ncSi:H or μc-Si:H p-layer. The resultant typical I-V curves are demonstrated in Fig.3. It is 

observed that using a nc-Si:H p-layer the cell performances (Curve a) could be enhanced, with a 

Voc of 1.042 V, a FF of 0.734, a short circuit current of 11.6 mA/cm2

, and an efficiency of 8.87 

%, while incorporating a μc-Si:H p-layer into the cell (Curve b ), the Voc decreased to 0.526 V. 

(a) (b) (c) 

Fig. 11-2: TEM micrographs of a thin nc-Si:H p-layer of 30 nm thick with a hybrid, stacked structure. 

(a) HAADF image, where bright dots represent nanocrystalline particles; in the insert is a SAED 

image, showing the diffraction pattern with crystalline features; (b) HREM image, exhibiting the 

lattice image; (c) Nano electron diffraction (NED) taken from one of the bright dots indicating the 

crystalline nature of the particle. 

Fig. 11-3: I-V characteristics of n-i-p a-Si:H solar cells on SS coated with Al/ZnO using the nc-Si:H 

p-layer (Curve a) or μc-Si:H p-layer into the cell (Curve b ) 

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1

Voltage (V)

Current density (mA/cm2)

GD 1178

Voc=0.526V

Jsc=12.58mA/cm2

FF=0.644

Eff=4.26%

GD 930

Voc=1.042V

Jsc=11.54mA/cm2

FF=0.734

Eff=8.87%

(a) (b)

67
References: 

1 T. Tiedje, Appl. Phys. Lett. 40, 627 (1982). 

2 B.Yan, J. Yang, and S. Guha, Appl. Phys. Lett. 83, 782 (2003). 

3 S. Tsuge, Y. Hishikawa, S. Okamoto, M. Sasaki, S. Tsuda, S. Nakano, and Y. Kuwano, Mat. Rec. 

Soc. Symp. Proc. 258, 869(1992). 

4 S. Guha, J. Yang, P. Nath, and M. Hack, Appl. Phys. Lett. 49, 218 (1986). 

5 J. K. Rath, and R. E. I. Schropp, Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells 53, 189(1998). 

6 R. J. Koval, Chi Chen, G. M. Ferreira, A. S. Ferlauto, J. M. Pearce, P. I. Rovira, C. R. Wronski, 

and R. W. Collins, Appl. Phys. Lett. 81, 1258 (2002). 

7 X. Liao, W. Wang and X. Deng, Proc. 29th IEEE-PVSC, 1234 (2002). 

8 For AMPS, see http://www.psu.edu/dept/AMPS/. 

9 Joohyun Koh, A. S. Ferlauto, P. I. Rovira, C. R. Wronski, and R. W. Collins, Appl. Phys. Lett. 

75, 2286 (1999) 

10 G. Yue, J. D. Lorentzen, J. Lin, D. Han, and Q Wang, Appl. Phys. Lett. 75, 492 (1999). 

11 J. Zi, H. Buescher, C. Falter, W. Ludwig, K. Zhang and X. Xie, Appl. Phys. Lett. 69, 200 (1996). 

12 Ch. Ossadnika, S. Veprek, and I. Gregora, Thin Solid Films 337, 148 (1999). 

13 I. H. Campbell, P.M. Fauchet, Solid State Commun. 58, 739 (1986). 

14 V. Paillard, P. Puech, R. Sirvin, S. Hamma and P. Roca i Cabarrocas, J. Appl. Phys. 90, 3276 

(2001). 

15 B. Delley and E.F. Steigmeier, Phys. Rev. B 47, 1397 (1997). 

68
12 Modeling of Triple Junction a-Si Solar Cells Using ASA: Analysis of 

Device Performance under Various Failure Scenarios 

Contributors: Chandan Das and Xunming Deng 

Abstract 

Triple junction a-Si solar cells have been modeled and simulated using the Advanced 

Semiconductor Analysis (ASA). The device performance is analyzed with numerically simulated 

I-V characteristics. We have studied several failure scenarios such as variations in the thickness 

of different layers of the multilayered triple-junction structure. Distinctive features of the I-V 

characteristics and solar parameters have been found which have been correlated and discussed 

with the basis of device physics. 

12.1 Introduction 

Manufacturing activities of amorphous silicon (a-Si) based thin film solar cells have 

experience a significant increase in the recent years. Solar panels with triple-junction spectrumsplitting structure are being manufactured in high-volume production. In the fabrication of an aSi/a-SiGe/a-SiGe nip/nip/nip triple cell, the thickness, bandgap and other properties of each of 

the nine semiconductor layers as well as the other non-semiconductor layers need to be 

accurately controlled in order for a triple cell to produce its highest power output. An 

unintentional change, or a “failure”, of any one of these layers could lead to undesirable changes 

in the solar cell I-V characteristics and quantum efficiency. These changes are often abnormal 

and difficult to understand. 

Modeling of triple junction solar cells and numerical simulation of variation in layers to 

reproduce the effect of variations in the deposition sequence could help to predict the changes in 

behavior of the solar cell performance. These predicted results would be extremely helpful to 

readily point out the failure mechanism by eliminating a large number of possibilities, should 

any of these failures occur in solar cell fabrication including PV manufacturing. Unfortunately, 

no reports of comprehensive study of failure analysis for the fabrication of multiple-junction 

solar cells and/or the comparison of these predicted results with real multi-junction devices have 

been found. To assist the optimization of solar cell fabrication and cost-effective industrial 

photovoltaic production, there is a strong need for the study of various possible failure scenarios 

in the deposition steps associated with the fabrication of multilayered thin film solar cells. In the 

present work, we selected a number of failure mechanisms that may occur during triple-cell 

device fabrication and studied the numerically simulated current-voltage (I-V) characteristics 

using Advanced Semiconductor Analysis (ASA), a program developed by Technical University 

of Delft.[1] Deviated solar cell I-V characteristics predicted under various failure scenarios are 

compared to that of a normal case. In the future, we will report cross examination and 

verification of these predicted I-V performance with that of real triple-junction solar cell devices 

intentionally fabricated under these failure scenarios. 

69
12.2 Modeling 

A triple junction a-Si solar cell has been constructed in computer modeling with ASA. The 

cell has the following structure: Al/n-bottom/i-buffer/i-bottom/i-buffer/p-bottom/n-middle/ibuffer/i-middle/i-buffer/p-middle/n-top/i-top/p-top/TCO and the schematic diagram of this cell is 

given in Fig. 12-1. This structure is taken as the standard for the present study and its simulated 

I-V characteristic is designated as the normal case. The other different cases chosen for the 

present study are shown in the Table 1. When any one layer is varied, all other layers have been 

kept unchanged in each of these scenarios. 

Fig. 12-1: Schematic diagram of the modeled triple junction solar cell. 

TCO

p a-Si:H

Top cell i-a-Si

n a-Si

p a-Si:H

i a-Si-buffer

Middle cell i a-SiGe

i a-Si-buffer

n a-Si

p a-Si:H

i a-Si-buffer

Bottom cell i a-SiGe

i a-Si-buffer

n a-Si

Aluminun

Table 12-1: Description of different simulation cases for the triple junction solar cells studied in the 

present work. 

Cases 

(In the parenthesis, corresponding Fig. 12-sub-numbers are given) 

Top cell No layer [A1] Five times more thickness [A2] 

Middle cell No layer [B1] Five times more thickness [B2] 

nlayer 

Bottom cell - - 

Top cell - - 

Middle cell No layer [C1] Five times more thickness [C2] 

player 

Bottom cell No layer [D1] Five times more thickness [D2] 

Top cell 10nm / 1nm layer [E1] Five times more thickness [E2] 

Middle cell - - 

ilayer 

Bottom cell 10nm layer/ no buffer layers [F1] Five times more thickness [F2] 

70
12.3 Results and discussion 

In Fig. 12-2, the dark and illuminated I-V characteristics of all these cases obtained from 

ASA simulation are shown; the figure sub-numbers correspond to the designated cases in the 

parenthesis in Table 1. The dark and illuminated I-V characteristics are presented by dotted and 

solid curves. In the “normal case” studied here, the device shows a I-V characteristics of 

Voc=2.1V, Jsc=7.2 mA/cm2 and FF=0.60 and the triple-cell current is limited by that of the 

middle cell under AM1.5 spectrum at the maximum power point. In Case A1, when we skip the 

n-layer of top cell, Voc drops to 1.4V and short circuit current (Jsc) remains almost the same with 

a slight increase. The lack of the top-cell n-layer leaves the triple junction structure as Al/nbottom/i-buffer/i-bottom/i-buffer/p-bottom/n-middle/i-buffer/i-middle/i-buffer/p-middle/––/itop/p-top/TCO, which has low Voc due to the lack of one functioning n-i-p diode. On the other 

hand, thicker n-layer (Case A2) reduces the Jsc to 4.78 mA/cm2 due to the reduced number of 

photons absorbed by the current-limiting middle cell, while the Voc stays unchanged. 

In Case B1 where middle cell n-layer is skipped, the Voc drops to 1.42V and the FF drops 

to 0.49 while the Jsc remains unchanged. In addition, the I-V characteristic becomes S-shaped 

with suppressed increase in Jsc under forward bias. Further, the dark I-V characteristics shows no 

switching on of diode operation under forward bias. However, for the thicker middle cell n-layer 

(B2), no prominent variation is noticed except the reduction of FF to 0.58. We choose not to 

discuss the modeled results of the effect of the bottom cell n-layer in this report, since the effect 

of the variation of this layer’s thickness depends sensitively on the choice of layer underneath, 

which is aluminum metal layer in the present study. For a similar reason, the effect of top-cell player is also not discussed in this report. 

When the middle-cell p-layer is skipped (C1), Voc is reduced as expected. However, in the 

case of thicker middle-cell p-layer (C2), we observe a peculiar I-V characteristics along with 

variation in Jsc, Voc, and FF. It appears that under near open-circuit conditions, it is difficult for 

photo-generated holes to move from the middle-cell i/p interface to the (middle-p)/(top-n) tunnel 

junction, causing reduced triple-cell current (the kink in the light IV near 1.8V). Similar results 

are obtained in Cases D1 and D2 where bottom cell p-layer is skipped and made thicker, 

respectively. The only difference is that the behavior of dark I-V characteristic is different in D1 

from that in C1. 

In Case E1, where the thickness of the top-cell i-layer is decreased to 1 nm from its 40nm 

standard case, unexpected results in I-V characteristics has been obtained. In short-circuit 

condition, the current is diminished while with increase in forward bias (i.e. under loaded 

condition) current shows an increase. To understand this strange behavior, a case with the 

thickness of the top-cell i-layer being 10nm was simulated and the peculiar I-V characteristics is 

also observed, but with less pronounced features. This peculiar IV performance, observed only 

for much reduced thicknesses than the normal conditions, is not well understood and requires 

further study. With a top cell i-layer five times thicker (E2) than that of standard, a decrease in Jsc

is obtained due to the reduced light absorbed by the middle cell which is limiting the current. The 

Voc and the shape of the I-V characteristic remain unchanged. In Case E2, there is also an 

artificial increase in FF due to the increased current mis-match. 

71
In the Cases F1 & F2, we varied the bottom cell i-layer thickness. The Jsc is significantly 

reduced when the bottom cell i-layer is made only 10nm in thickness with both of the buffer 

layers skipped (Case F1). For Case F2, the thicker bottom-cell i-layer results in almost no change 

in triple-cell IV, since the Jsc is still limited by the middle cell. 

012

-8

0

8

Jsc (mA/cm2

)

V (volt)

[A1]

012

-8

0

8

Jsc (mA/cm2

)

V (volt)

[A2]

012

-8

0

8

Jsc (mA/cm 2

)

V (volt)

[Normal case]

012

-8

0

8

Jsc (mA/cm2

)

V (volt)

[B1]

012

-8

0

8

Jsc (mA/cm2

)

V (volt)

[B2]

012

-8

0

8

Jsc (mA/cm2

)

V (volt)

[C1]

012

-8

0

8

Jsc (mA/cm2

)

V (volt)

[C2]

012

-8

0

8

Jsc (mA/cm2

)

V (volt)

[D 1]

012

-8

0

8

Jsc (mA/cm2

)

V (volt)

[D2]

0123

-8

0

8

40 nm= std

10 nm

1 nm

Jsc (mA/cm2

)

V (volt)

[E1]

012

-8

0

8

Jsc (mA/cm2

)

V (volt)

[E2]

012

-8

0

8

Jsc (m A/cm2

)

V (volt)

[F1]

012

-8

0

8

Jsc (mA/cm2

)

V (volt)

[F2]

Fig. 12-2: ASA generated I-V characteristics of the standard triple junction solar cell (Normal case) 

and cases designated in Table 1 as A1, A2, B1, B2, C1, C2, D1, D2, E1, E2, F1, and F2. 

12.4 Conclusion 

Using ASA generated I-V results of a normal triple-junction a-Si/a-SiGe/a-SiGe solar cell 

and those under various “failure” conditions, we analyzed the expected and unexpected IV 

characteristics when one of the doped or undoped layers is made thicker (five times thicker) or 

thinner (zero thickness or significantly reduced thickness). Various IV performances are 

predicted under these failure scenarios. These findings and analyses can be used to assist 

fabrication of triple-junction a-Si bases solar cells in both research and manufacturing to quickly 

identify possible failure scenarios, should any of these occur. 

Reference: 

1. R. Schropp and M. Zeman, Amorphous and Microcrystalline Silicon Solar Cells, Modeling, Materials and 

Device Technology, Kluwer Academic Publishers,1998. Part II. 

72
13 Measurement of Component-Cell Current-Voltage Characteristics in 

a Tandem-Junction Two-Terminal Solar Cell 

Contributors: Chandan Das, Xianbi Xiang and Xunming Deng 

Abstract 

 A new method for measuring component cell current-voltage (I-V) characteristics in a 

tandem-junction two-terminal solar cell is described. The measurements are performed with (aSi/a-SiGe) tandem structure solar cell using two separate light beams of different wavelengths. 

The I-V characteristics of the component cells are obtained and open-circuit voltage (Voc), shortcircuit current (Isc) and fill-factor (FF) are calculated. This method could be a useful tool for 

evaluation and optimization of multijunction solar cells. 

Keywords 

Measurement method, I-V characteristics, component cells, tandem junction, solar cells 

13.1 Introduction 

 In the course of fabricating and optimizing multiple-junction, two-terminal solar cells, it 

is important to be able to determine the performance of the individual component cells, since a 

separate single cell, even fabricated under the same conditions, may perform differently from the 

corresponding component cell within a multiple junction stack. Some differences are 

reproducible, such as those due to differences in the sub-structure; however, other differences 

can arise from unrecognized or uncontrolled parameters. The latter is particularly true for 

production processes insofar as all cells fabricated under identical conditions should have 

identical performance, but from time to time, are different due to unrecognized parameter 

variations. Sometimes there are even unidentified catastrophic changes. Without a technique to 

measure component cell performance in the multiple-junction stack, one could not identify 

immediately which of the component cells failed or degraded and, therefore, important 

production time for a multijunction device manufacturer would be wasted. Kurtz et. al. [1] 

developed a process to measure component cells in a tandem device. However, these approaches 

call for an initial estimate of the component cell Voc. If the initial estimate is not accurate, 

different results may be obtained. Thus, the applicability of this method is limited. In this work, 

we report the use of a new technique developed at the University of Toledo [2] to measure 

component cell I-V in a tandem stack without any initial assumptions. 

13.2 Outline of Methodology 

 In order to extract the information about current of a component cell in a tandem stack, 

where the components cells rely on spectrum-splitting absorption, one could easily make the 

73
tandem current limited by one component cell, by flooding the other component cell with a 

proper color of light. Thus under such a condition, the current of the one component cell could 

be measured and I-V could be drawn. However, to get information about individual voltage of 

each component, there is no such direct way and in a two terminal device structure, voltage is 

always measured as the sum of the two component voltage. Therefore, the challenge is to get the 

information about the contribution of voltage from each component in the total tandem voltage. 

The following procedure deals with this problem. 

The procedures for measuring component-cell I-V characteristics consist of two major 

parts: 1) measurement of open circuit voltage (Voc) of each of the component cells inside a 

tandem cell; and 2) measurement of the short circuit current (Isc) and fill factor (FF) of the 

component cells. 

To illustrate the measurement procedures, we describe in detail the measurement of top 

component cell in a two-terminal, tandem-junction a-Si/a-SiGe solar cell. 

Step 1: Measurement of Voc of each of the component cells under a given illumination. 

This step consists of several sub-steps: 

1A) Measure the relationship between Voc (top) and Isc (top) for the top component cell; 

1B) Measure the relation between Voc (bottom) and Isc (bottom) for the bottom 

component cell; 

1C) Measure Isc (top) and Isc (bottom) under a given illumination; 

1D) Obtain the V’oc (top) and V’oc (bottom) from the calibration curves generated in 

Steps 1A and 1B for the top and bottom cells under the given illumination corresponding 

to the Isc values obtained in Step 1C; and 

1E) Compare [V’oc (top) + V’oc (bottom)] with the measured Voc (tandem) to obtain 

Voc(top) and Voc (bottom) under this given illumination. 

Step 2: Measurement of Isc and FF of component cells: 

2A) Keep the tandem cell under top-cell current limiting condition, i.e., stronger red 

illumination and relatively weaker blue illumination and scan the I-V of the tandem cell. 

2B) Subtract the voltage of the tandem cell with Voc of the bottom cell, obtained above, 

for this given illumination. Replot the I-V curve of the tandem cell, after Voc(bottom) is 

subtracted, under the illumination in which the tandem-cell current is limited by that of 

the top cell. This replotted curve is the I-V characteristics of the top component cell. 

2C) Keep the tandem cell under bottom-cell current limiting condition and repeat these 

steps to obtain the bottom cell I-V characteristics. 

74
13.3 Description of the Procedures and Results 

Step 1A: At first, to make sure that the relationship between Voc and Isc of an a-Si or aSiGe cell is independent, or weakly dependent at most, on the wavelength of the illumination, 

single-junction a-Si and a-SiGe cells are used and measured under various monochromatic lights. 

It is found that the Voc vs Isc curves are indeed independent of the wavelength of the illumination 

as shown in Fig. 13-1 and Fig. 13-2 for top and bottom single junction cells, respectively. In the 

discussions afterward, all measurements are carried out in a two-terminal tandem structure. The 

quantum efficiency (QE) of the a-Si/a-SiGe tandem cell is measured using a method developed 

by Burdick and Glatfelter [3]. The tandem cell is illuminated with a blue light; a 400 nm 

monochromatic light is used in this measurement so that the blue light is fully absorbed by the 

top cell and the bottom cell is in dark. Fig. 13-3 shows that the bottom-cell QE at 400nm is zero. 

Under the 400 nm blue light, the bottom cell is in dark and does not contribute to the tandem cell 

Voc. Extreme care was taken to make sure that there is no scattered red light near the sample. The 

Voc of the tandem cell, therefore, is approximately the Voc of the top cell, Voc (top), under this 

400 nm light. The current of the tandem cell is, however, limited by the current of the bottom 

cell. To measure the current of the top cell, a relatively more intense red bias light, obtained from 

a tungsten lamp with a 610 nm long-pass filter, is illuminated on the tandem cell so that the 

current of tandem cell is limited by the top cell. By taking the difference of the tandem-cell Isc

with and without the 400 nm blue light, the Isc of the top cell, Isc (top), under this particular 400 

nm light is obtained. Varying the intensity of the 400 nm blue light, the relationship of Voc (top) 

and Isc (top) is obtained, as shown in Fig. 13-4. It is possible that the Voc (top) vs Isc (top) 

relationship shown in Fig. 13-4 is slightly different from the actual relationship since there might 

be a small contribution of the voltage from the bottom cell under 400 nm light. 

0.35 0.40 0.45 0.50 0.55

1E-7

1E-6

I

sc (A)

Voc (Volt)

 560nm

 400nm

 650nm

Fig. 13-1: Relationship between Voc and Isc of single junction top cell under intensity variation of 

different wavelength of monochromatic light. 

75
0.25 0.30 0.35 0.40 0.45

1E-8

1E-7

I

sc (A)

Voc (Volt)

 700nm

 650nm

Fig. 13-2: Relationship between Voc and Isc of single junction bottom cell under intensity variation of 

different wavelength of monochromatic light. 

0.0

0.1

0.2

0.3

0.4

0.5

0.6

0.7

0.8

0.9

1.0

380 480 580 680 780 880

Wavelength (nm)

QE

Fig. 13-3: Quantum efficiency curves of a tandem-junction a-Si/a-SiGe solar cell used in this study to 

illustrate the method. 

76
0.1 0.2 0.3 0

10-9

10-8

.4

I

sc (A)

Voc (Volt)

Fig. 13-4: Relationship between Voc and Isc of top component cell in a tandem cell under variation of 

400 nm light intensity. 

0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6

10-8

I

sc (A)

Voc (Volt)

Fig. 13-5: Relationship between Voc and Isc of bottom component cell in a tandem cell under variation 

of 700 nm light intensity.

 Step 1B: A similar approach is taken for measuring the Voc (bottom) and Isc (bottom) 

relationship except that in this case the red light is a 700 nm monochromatic light and the blue 

light is from the tungsten lamp with a 470 nm short-pass filter. Under the 700 nm red light, the 

top cell is in dark and does not contribute to the tandem cell Voc. The tandem cell Voc is therefore 

the Voc of the bottom cell. The blue bias light allows one to measure Isc (bottom). The obtained 

Voc (bottom) and Isc (bottom) relationship is shown in Fig. 13-5. 

Step 1C: Under a given illumination, the Isc (tandem) is either Isc (top) or Isc (bottom) 

depending on the relative intensity of the blue and red light. Fig. 13-6 shows the Isc of a tandem 

77
cell under illumination of a fixed-intensity blue light and a varying-intensity red light. The Isc

(tandem) is plotted against the intensity of the red light measured with a detector voltage 

response. At the highest red-light intensity, the current of the tandem cell is limited by the topcell current and with the decrease of the red-light intensity to a certain level, this current remains 

almost constant. Further reduction of red-light intensity makes the tandem cell current to be 

limited by the bottom-cell current and thus the tandem-cell current decreases with the red-light 

intensity. The point of inversion, where the dependence on limitation of component current 

shifts, is obtained by the sharp change of the slope of the curve. At this point, both the 

component cells have the same current, i.e. Isc (top) = Isc (bottom)= 4.54x10-8 A, for the sample 

shown in Fig. 13-6. Generally, at low red-light intensity, the tandem-cell current is limited by the 

bottom cell, while at high red-light intensity, the tandem is limited by the top cell. By increasing 

the red and blue light separately from a given illumination, one can determine the Isc (top) and Isc

(bottom) of the tandem cell under this given illumination. 

Step 1D: The Voc of the top and bottom component cells of the tandem cell under the given 

illumination is then obtained from the Isc (top) and Isc (bottom) values from Step 1C and the Isc vs 

Voc relationships from Steps 1A (Fig. 13-4) and 1B (Fig. 13-5). A given illumination is used as 

an example to illustrate the procedures. Under this illumination, the Isc(top) and Isc(bottom) as 

determined from Step 1C were 3.7x10-8A and 4.54x10-8A, respectively. The Voc (tandem) under 

this given illumination is measured to be 0.815V. Using the Isc vs Voc curves established in Step 

1A (Fig. 13-4) and Step 1B (Fig. 13-5), the calculated open circuit voltages for the top and 

bottom cells, V’oc(top) and V’oc(bottom), are 0.354V and 0.593V, respectively, and the total 

combined voltage, V’oc(tandem), is 0.947V. 

0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9

2.0x10-8

2.5x10-8

3.0x10-8

3.5x10-8

4.0x10-8

4.5x10-8

5.0x10-8

Itandem (A)

Bias light intensity (Volt)

Fig. 13-6: Variation of tandem cell current (Itandem) with variation of intensity of red light as a function 

of detector voltage. 

 

Step 1E: V’oc(tandem) is higher than 0.815V, the measured value for Voc(tandem). This is 

because during Step 1A (Step 1B) when the tandem cell is illuminated with blue (red) light, the 

bottom (top) cell may generate a small voltage even though most of the blue (red) light is 

78
absorbed by the top (bottom) cell. Assuming that the error introduced in Steps 1A and 1B are 

about the same magnitude, we obtain the Voc(top)=Voc’(top)×[Voc(tandem)/V’oc(tandem)] 

=0.305V and Voc(bottom) = Voc’(bottom) × [Voc(tandem)/ V’oc(tandem)] =0.510V, under the 

given illumination in this example. 

Step2. Measurement of Isc and FF of component cells 

Step 2A: The tandem cell is kept under the illumination described above, which generates 

higher Isc (bottom) than Isc (top). A varying electrical bias is applied on the tandem cell to scan 

the I(tandem) vs V(tandem) characteristics. In this case, I(tandem) is I(top) since the current of 

the tandem cell is limited by that of the top cell. 

Step 2B: Near the maximum-power operating point of the tandem device in which the 

current is limited by the top, the voltage of the bottom cell is approximately Voc (bottom). 

Subtracting Voc (bottom) obtained in Step 1E, we obtain the voltage of the top cell V(top) = 

[V(tandem) – Voc(bottom)], which, combined with the I(top), provides the I-V characteristics of 

the top component cell, as shown in Fig. 13-7 for the given illumination described above. 

Step 2C: A different illumination which has stronger blue light, is used to measure the 

component cell I-V characteristics of the bottom cell. The result is shown in Fig. 13-8. 

The I-V curves shown in Figures 7 & 8 represent the I-V curves of the top and bottom 

component cells respectively in the a-Si/a-SiGe tandem-junction solar cell under the given 

illumination. The FF for the top and bottom components under this illumination are calculated as 

0.48 and 0.27 respectively. Same method could be used to determine the I-V characteristic for 

the device under 1-sun illumination. 

-0.6 -0.4 -0.2 0.0 0.2 0.4

-4.0x10-8

-2.0x10-8

0.0

2.0x10-8

4.0x10-8

I

sc (A)

V (Volt)

Fig. 13-7: I-V characteristic of top component cell in a tandem-junction cell. 

79
-0.4 -0.2 0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8

-3.0x10-7

-2.0x10-7

-1.0x10-7

0.0

1.0x10-7

I

sc (A)

V (Volt)

Fig. 13-8: I-V characteristic of bottom component cell in a tandem-junction cell. 

13.4 Conclusion 

A new method to measure the component cell I-V characteristics of a multiple-junction, 

two-terminal cell has been developed [2] and described. The new method is demonstrated to 

measure the component-cell I-V characteristics of the tandem-junction cell effectively. Further 

works are ongoing to demonstrate the method for 1-sun illumination and for triple-junction solar 

cells. 

References: 

1. S. Kurtz, K. Emery and J. M. Olson, Proc. of 1st WCPEC, 1773 (1994). 

2. X. Deng, “Method for Measuring Component Cell Current-Voltage Characteristics in a Multi-junction, 

Two-terminal Stacked Solar Cell”, University of Toledo Invention Disclosures for Patent Application, 

April 11, 2002 and July 9, 2004. 

3. J. Burdick and T. Gletfelter, Solar Cells 18, 301 (1986). 

80
14 Amorphous Silicon Based Minimodules with Silicone Elastomer 

Encapsulation 

Contributors: Aarohi Vijh and Xunming Deng 

14.1 Introduction 

Ethyl vinyl acetate (EVA) is the most commonly used material for the encapsulation of 

terrestrial solar cells. It is well known that EVA turns yellow upon extended exposure to 

ultraviolet light. This yellowing upon exposure to UV light is a characteristic of most carbon 

based polymers. Silicon-based polymers (silicones) may not show this effect. Although silicones 

were used to encapsulate solar cells in the 1970s and 1980s, they were dropped in favour of ethyl 

vinyl acetate due to its lower cost [1]. However, the price of silicone elastomers has come down 

over the years and their quality and ease of application have improved, which may make them 

suitable for encapsulating solar cells once again. We have recently fabricated 4”x 4” and 4”x8” 

minimodules encapsulated with a combination of a silicone elastomer and Dupont Tefzel. 

14.2 Experimental Details 

The silicone used in our experiments was Dow Corning’s Sylgard 182. Sylgard 182 is a 

blend of silanes (-Si-)n and siloxanes (-Si-O-Si-)n with alkyl groups substituting some of the 

hydrogen atoms, i.e. it has a silicon backbone, which makes it different from carbon based 

polymers such as EVA. Glass slides were encapsulated on both sides with EVA/Tefzel and 

silicone elastomer/Tefzel in a vacuum laminator. The EVA was obtained from Specialized 

Technology Resources. Figure 14-1 compares the light transmission of these samples with that of 

a plain glass slide. 

Transmission

-20

0

20

40

60

80

100

300 400 500 600 700 800 900

Wavelength (nm)

T (%)

EVA

Sylgard

Glass

Fig. 14-1: Transmission of glass encapsulated with EVA and Sylgard. 

81
In the thickness applied, the Sylgard-encapsulated slide showed better light transmission 

throughout the visible wavelength range than the EVA encapsulated slide. Its UV cutoff was 

more gradual than that of EVA, which blocked all light of wavelength shorter than 360 nm. 

Two minimodules were then fabricated from 4”x4” single junction amorphous silicongermanium solar cells and encapsulated with Sylgard 182 and Tefzel in the vacuum laminator. 

The first minimodule had a single 4”x4” a-SiGe n-i-p cell while the second consisted of two 

4”x4” cells in series. Each cell had an active area of approximately 81 cm2

. Current collection 

grids consisting of tinned copper wire applied to the ITO front contact with conductive silver 

paint for the series interconnected cells, and conducting graphite paint for the single cell. 

Reverse-protection diodes were also attached between the bus bars of the cells. Before 

application of grids, the cells were shunt-passivated using a light-assisted electrochemical 

method [2], details of which will be reported separately. The cells were then vacuum laminated 

with Sylgard 182 and Tefzel at 125°C for 30 minutes. Being a liquid, Sylgard 182 flows well, 

and no trapped bubbles were found in the laminated minimodules. Coverage of raised features 

(e.g. the diodes and grid lines) was excellent. Figure 14-2 shows a photo of the 4”x4” and 4”x8” 

minimodules. The discolouration on the surface of the cells is a result of the shunt passivation 

process. 

Fig. 14-2: Silicone elastomer encapsulated a-SiGe based minimodules 

The cells produced the expected open circuit voltages of 0.8 V and 1.6 V for the single and 

two-cell minimodules, respectively. The short circuit current was 183 mA for the 4”x4” 

minimodule, and 760 mA for the 4”x8” interconnected minimodule, corresponding to current 

densities of 2.2 and 9.4 mA/cm2, respectively. The currents were limited by the series resistance 

of the grids and interconnects, which at approximately 1 Ω per cell for the silver paint-attached 

82
grids and 4 Ω per cell for the carbon paint-attached grids, were excessive for the expected Isc of 

~1.6A. With the reverse protection diodes removed and under a reverse bias, the current in the 

4”x8” minimodule increased to approximately 1.0A. 

14.3 Conclusion 

Both minimodules encapsulated with silicone elastomer functioned well. The quality of the 

encapsulant in terms of adhesion and bubble-free lamination was found to be good. Its light 

transmission for the thickness applied was found to be better than that of EVA. We conclude that 

silicone elastomers can be used as an alternative encapsulant for encapsulating solar cells. 

References 

1. Muirhead, I.J. and Hawkins, B.K., An assessment of photovoltaic power in the Telstra network, Annual 

Conference of the Australian and New Zealand Solar Energy Society – SOLAR, 1995 

2. Vijh, A. and Deng, X., Light Assisted Shunt Passivation for Amorphous Silicon Photovoltaics, Patent 

Application submitted to USPTO, April 2004. 

83
15 Expansion of UT’s Fabrication Capability for Triple-Junction 

Amorphous Silicon Based Solar Cells 

Contributors: H. Povolny and X. Deng 

Triple junction solar cells have been fabricated at UT using a multi-chamber rf PECVD 

deposition system made by GSI in 1990. The original system consisted of two PECVD 

deposition chambers and a load chamber. Figure 1 shows a photo of the original system. Several 

years ago, the load chamber was converted to become a dual purpose chamber: 1) designated 

deposition chamber for the n-type Si:H based materials and 2) the load lock chamber. 

The three PECVD deposition chambers produce high quality amorphous and 

microcrystalline silicon and silicon germanium alloy with the each of the doped layers, n and p, 

deposited in a dedicated deposition chamber. The chamber dedicated to intrinsic silicon and 

silicon germanium alloys has been equipped with a VHF power supply and impedance matching 

network in order to explore the deposition process and film quality at higher frequency. This 

allows us to deposit high-quality materials at higher deposition rates than can be achieved with 

standard RF PECVD. 

Fig. 15-1: A photo of UT’s PECVD system before expansion. 

A novel Hot-Wire CVD chamber was also added several years ago to explore high 

deposition rate microcrystalline silicon as well as high deposition rates of amorphous silicon. 

84
Figure 15-2 shows a photo of the HWCVD system. The chamber uses a coiled filament design 

which leads to extremely high gas disassociation rates. There are three separate gas inlets, one 

directed through the coiled filament, an annular gas inlet just above the filament, and an annular 

gas inlet just below the substrate. This allows us to study the effects of gas injection position on 

film growth and film properties. Finally, the chamber includes RF cathode so that PECVD can 

be done as well. 

Fig. 15-2: A photo of UT’s HWCVD chamber integrated to the multi-chamber PECVD system. 

During this program period, we have carried out a major expansion to this deposition 

system to include 4 sputter deposition chambers and an additional load lock chamber. With this 

expansion, all of the 12 layers in a triple-junction solar cells, Al/ZnO/nipnipnip/ITO, can be 

made without vacuum break at the interfaces. Fig. 15-3 shows a AutoCAD drawing of the 

system before the expansion and Fig. 15-4 shows the AutoCAD drawing of four additional 

chambers (1 load lock and 3 sputter chambers for Al, ZnO and ITO, as previously designed). 

The four sputter chambers were added for the purpose of making back reflector and top 

contact layers, as well as other metal and oxide layers, without vacuum break. Each sputter 

chamber has a sample rotation stage so that we can evenly coat a four inch square substrate using 

only a three inch diameter sputter target. A second gas inlet allows for reactive sputtering and an 

easily accessible bottom flange allows for the possibility of incorporating other processes into 

our system with minimal difficulty or downtime. 

85
Fig. 15-3: AutoCAD drawing of the PECVD/HWCVD system before recent expansion. 

Fig. 15-4: AutoCAD drawing of the multi-chamber deposition system with additional chambers (1 

load lock and 3 sputtering chambers for Al, ZnO and ITO layers, as previously planned). 

86
The load-lock chamber is equipped with a substrate elevator capable of holding up to ten 

individually selectable substrates at one time. This is vital for any system of this size and 

versatility so that multiple chambers can be used at the same time without interfering with each 

other and without requiring a vacuum break. Partially completed devices can be stored in the 

load chamber until the next chamber and operator are ready for them without interfering with the 

workings of any of the other chambers. The elevator is equipped with a manipulator arm so that 

substrates can be moved between holders with different masks in situ. With appropriate masks, 

this allows us to perform combinatorial design of experiment in addition to simple patterning of 

individual layers. 

Over all, the expanded combination HWCVD/PECVD/VHFPECVD/Sputter deposition 

system with integral load-lock incorporating multiple substrate capability with interchangeable 

masks provides remarkable versatility to carry out a variety of key studies in various aspects of 

photovoltaic devices. 

The design and the optimization of this four additional sputter chambers are supported by 

NREL while the acquisition of the system components and the installation were supported by a 

research grant from Air Force Research Laboratory. Figure 15-5 is a photo of the entire system 

with nine chambers--3 PECVD, 1 HWCVD, 4 Sputtering, and 1 Load lock chambers. Initial 

films have already been made using these new sputter chambers. The optimization is underway 

and will be reported extensively in the next Quarterly Report. 

Fig. 15-5: Photo of the entire system with nine chambers--3 PECVD, 1 HWCVD, 4 Sputtering, and 1 

Load lock chambers. 

87
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PLEASE DO NOT RETURN YOUR FORM TO THE ABOVE ORGANIZATION.

1. REPORT DATE (DD-MM-YYYY)

January 2006 

2. REPORT TYPE

Subcontract Report 

3. DATES COVERED (From - To)

1 September 2001–6 March 2005 

5a. CONTRACT NUMBER

DE-AC36-99-GO10337 

5b. GRANT NUMBER

4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE

High Efficiency and High Rate Deposited Amorphous Silicon-Based 

Solar Cells: Final Technical Report, 1 September 2001 – 6 March 

2005 

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NREL/SR-520-39091 

5e. TASK NUMBER

PVB65101 

6. AUTHOR(S)

 X. Deng 

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Department of Physics and Astronomy 

University of Toledo 

Toledo, OH 43606 

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NDJ-2-30630-08 

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14. ABSTRACT (Maximum 200 Words)

The objectives for the University of Toledo are to: (1) establish a transferable knowledge and technology base for 

fabricating high-efficiency triple-junction a-Si-based solar cells, and (2) develop high-rate deposition techniques for 

growing a-Si-based and related alloys, including poly-Si, μc-Si, a-SiGe, and a-Si films and photovoltaic devices with 

these materials. 

15. SUBJECT TERMS

PV; high efficiency, high-rate deposition; triple-junction; solar cells; devices; amorphous silicon; 

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