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Influence of Hydrogen on the Germanium Incorporation in a-Si1-xGex:H for Thin-film Solar Cell Application

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 February 2011

Chien-Ming Wang ,
Yen-Tang Huang ,
Yen Kuo-Hsi ,
Hung-Jung Hsu ,
Cheng-Hang Hsu ,
Hsiao-Wen Zan  and
Chuang-Chuang Tsai
Chien-Ming Wang
Affiliation:
Bryant_937@msn.com, National Chiao Tung University, Department of Photonics, Hsinchu, Taiwan, Province of China
Yen-Tang Huang
Affiliation:
yellowcandyh@hotmail.com, National Chiao Tung University, Department of Photonics, Hsinchu, Taiwan, Province of China
Yen Kuo-Hsi
Affiliation:
darkstar.ep91g@nctu.edu.tw, National Chiao Tung University, Department of Photonics, Hsinchu, Taiwan, Province of China
Hung-Jung Hsu
Affiliation:
bear0300022@yahoo.com.tw, National Chiao Tung University, Department of Photonics, Hsinchu, Taiwan, Province of China
Cheng-Hang Hsu
Affiliation:
sean.c.hsu@gmail.com, National Chiao Tung University, Department of Photonics, Hsinchu, Taiwan, Province of China
Hsiao-Wen Zan
Affiliation:
hsiaowen@mail.nctu.edu.tw, National Chiao Tung University, Department of Photonics, Hsinchu, Taiwan, Province of China
Chuang-Chuang Tsai
Affiliation:
cctsai1@mail.nctu.edu.tw, National Chiao Tung University, Department of Photonics, Hsinchu, Taiwan, Province of China
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Abstract

In this work, we examined the Ge incorporation and the accompanied defect formation during PECVD deposition of hydrogenated amorphous silicon-germanium alloys (a-Si1-xGex:H). In particular, we studied the effect of hydrogen on film growth, defect formation, Ge and Si incorporation efficiencies, and the H-bonding configuration. Our results indicate that hydrogen has a strong effect on improving the a-Si1-xGex:H film quality and the Ge incorporation in a-Si1-xGex:H. With adequate hydrogen dilution, the a-Si1-xGex:H thin-film quality significantly improved. However, excessive hydrogen dilution degraded the film properties. A number of analytical tools were employed, including FTIR, XPS, UV-Visible spectroscopy, photoconductivity, etc. The a-Si1-xGex:H material having 24% Ge content and a bangap of 1.61ev produced the solar cell with a conversion efficiency of 7.07%.

Keywords

GeSiplasma-enhanced CVD (PECVD) (chemical reaction)
Type
Research Article
Information
MRS Online Proceedings Library (OPL) , Volume 1245: Symposium A – Amorphous and Polycrystalline Thin-Film Silicon Science and Technology-2010 , 2010 , 1245-A04-02
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2010

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