Patent ID: 8916768

Claim:
A method for surface passivation of silicon based semiconductors, wherein the method comprises: cleaning the surface of the semiconductor that is to be passivated, removing an oxide layer on the surface of the semiconductor that is to be passivated, introducing the cleaned surface of the semiconductor into a plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition chamber, depositing a 10-100 nm thick amorphous silicon passivation layer directly on the surface of the semiconductor that is to be passivated by use of SiH 4 as a precursor gas at about 250° C., depositing a 70-100 nm thick silicon nitride passivation layer on top of the deposited amorphous silicon passivation layer by use of a mixture of SiH 4 and NH 3 as precursor gases at about 250° C., and finally annealing the wafer with the deposited passivation layers at a temperature of about 500° C. for four minutes.