The study of amorphous incubation layers during the growth of microcrystalline silicon films under different deposition conditions

The structural un-uniformity of μc-Si:H films prepared using a very high frequency plasma-enhanced chemical vapour deposition method has been investigated by Raman spectroscopy,spectroscopic ellipsometer and atomic force microscopy.It was found that the formation of amorphous incubation layer was caused by the back diffusion of SiH_4 and the amorphous induction of glass surface during the initial ignition process,and growth of the incubation layer can be suppressed and uniformμc-Si:H phase is generated by the application of delayed initial SiH_4 density and silane profiling methods.

Density of States in Intrinsic and n/p-Doped Hydrogenated Amorphous and Microcrystalline Silicon

Gap states in amorphous hydrogenated silicon (a-Si:H) doped and microcrystalline silicon doped n and p were examined by analysis of subgap absorption spectra obtained by the Constant Photocurrent Method (CPM) and the Photothermal Deflection Spectroscopy (PDS). Assuming a Gaussian distribution of defect states in the gap, broad distribution of states was found in a-Si:H and doped a-Si:H. A dependence of the defect concentration on Fermi energy was detected and analysed by thermodynamic model of defect formation in a-Si:H.

Nanoporous SiO_x coated amorphous silicon anode material with robust mechanical behavior for high-performance rechargeable Li-ion batteries

Silicon is a promising anode material for rechargeable Li-ion battery (LIB) due to its high energy density and relatively low operating voltage. However, silicon based electrodes suffer from rapid capacity degradation during electrochemical cycling. The capacity decay is predominantly caused by (i) cracking due to large volume variations during lithium insertion/extraction and (ii) surface degradation due to excessive solid electrolyte interface (SEI) formation. In this work, we demonstrate that coating of a-Si thin film with a Li-active, nanoporous SiOx layer can result in exceptional electrochemical performance in Li-ion battery. The SiOx layer provides improved cracking resistance to the thin film and prevent the active material loss due to excessive SEI formation, benefiting the electrode cycling stability. Half-cell experiments using this anode material show an initial reversible capacity of 2173 mAh g^-1 with an excellent coulombic efficiency of 90.9%. Furthermore, the electrode shows remarkable capacity retention of ~97% after 100 cycles at C/2 charging rate. The proposed anode architecture is free from Liinactive binders and conductive additives and provides mechanical stability during the charge/discharge process.

Effect of Additives on the Sintering of Amorphous Nano-sized Silicon Nitride Powders

Amorphous nano-sized silicon nitride powders were sintered by liquid phase sintering. The influences of the additives of Y2O3 and Al2O3 prepared by two different ways, the polyacrylamide gel method and the precipitation method, were investigated. The grain sizes of the additives prepared by the first method were finer than those of prepared by the latter method. When sintered at the same temperature, 1700 ℃, the average grain size of the silicon nitride is 0.3 μm for the sample with the former additives, which is much finer than the one with the latter additives. The density of additives prepared by precipitation method is clearly lower than those of prepared by polyacrylamide gel method.

Growth characteristics of amorphous-layer-free nanocrystalline silicon films fabricated by very high frequency PECVD at 250 ℃

Amorphous-layer-free nanocrystalline silicon films were prepared by a very high frequency plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition(PECVD) technique using hydrogen-diluted SiH4 at 250 C.The dependence of the crystallinity of the film on the hydrogen dilution ratio and the film thickness was investigated.Raman spectra show that the thickness of the initial amorphous incubation layer on silicon oxide gradually decreases with increasing hydrogen dilution ratio.High-resolution transmission electron microscopy reveals that the initial amorphous incubation layer can be completely eliminated at a hydrogen dilution ratio of 98%,which is lower than that needed for the growth of amorphous-layer-free nanocrystalline silicon using an excitation frequency of 13.56 MHz.More studies on the microstructure evolution of the initial amorphous incubation layer with hydrogen dilution ratios were performed using Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy.It is suggested that the high hydrogen dilution,as well as the higher plasma excitation frequency,plays an important role in the formation of amorphous-layer-free nanocrystalline silicon films.

Surface plasmon enhanced photoluminescence in amorphous silicon carbide films by adjusting Ag island film sizes

Ag island films with different sizes are deposited on hydrogenated amorphous silicon carbide (α-SiC:H) films, and the influences of Ag island films on the optical properties of the α-SiC:H films are investigated. Atomic force microscope images show that Ag nanoislands are formed after Ag coating, and the size of the Ag islands increases with increasing Ag deposition time. The extinction spectra indicate that two resonance absorption peaks which correspond to out-of-plane and in-plane surface plasmon modes of the Ag island films are obtained, and the resonance peak shifts toward longer wavelength with increasing Ag island size. The photoluminescence (PL) enhancement or quenching depends on the size of Ag islands, and PL enhancement by 1.6 times on the main PL band is obtained when the sputtering time is 10 min. Analyses show that the influence of surface plasmons on the PL of α-SiC:H is determined by the competition between the scattering and absorption of Ag islands, and PL enhancement is obtained when scattering is the main interaction between the Ag islands and incident light.

Preparation and Characterization of Amorphous Silicon Oxide Nanowires

Large-scale amorphous silicon nanowires (SiNWs) with a diameter about 100 nm and a length of dozens of micrometers on silicon wafers were synthesized by thermal evaporation of silicon monoxide (SiO). Scanning electron microscope (SEM) and transmission electron microscope (TEM) observations show that the silicon nanowires are smooth. Selected area electron diffraction (SAED) shows that the silicon nanowires are amorphous and en-ergy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) indicates that the nanowires have the composition of Si and O elements in an atomic ratio of 1:2,their composition approximates that of SiO2. SiO is considered to be used as a Si sources to produce SiNWs. We conclude that the growth mechanism is closely related to the defect structure and silicon monoxide followed by growth through an oxide-assisted vapor-solid reaction.

Fabrication of Fine-Grained Si_3N_4-Si_2N_2O Composites by Sintering Amorphous Nano-sized Silicon Nitride Powders

Si3N4-Si2N2O composites were fabricated with amorphous nano-sized silicon nitride powders by the liquid phase sintering （LPS）. The Si2N2O phase was generated by an in-situ reaction 2Si3N4（s）+ 1.5 O2（g）=3Si2N2O（s）+N2（g）. The content of Si2N2O phase up to 60% in the volume was obtained at a sintering temperature of 1 650 ℃ and reduced when the sintering temperature increased or decreased, indicating the reaction is reversible. The mass loss, relative density and average grain size increased with increasing the sintering temperature. The average grain size was less than 500 nm when the sintering temperature was below 1 700 ℃. The sintering procedure contains a complex crystallization and a phase transition: amorphous silicon nitride→equiaxial α-Si3N4→equiaxial β-Si3N4→rod-like Si2N2O→needle-like β-Si3N4. Small round-shaped β-Si3N4 particles were entrapped in the Si2N2O grains and a high density of staking faults was situated in the middle of Si2N2O grains at a sintering temperature of 1 650 ℃. The toughness increased from 3.5 MPa·m 1/2 at 1 600 ℃ to 7.2 MPa·m 1/2 at 1 800 ℃. The hardness was as high as 21.5 GPa （Vickers） at 1 600 ℃.

Solid-phase Crystallization of Amorphous Silicon Films by Rapid Thermal Annealing

The morphous silicon films prepared by PECVD at substrate temperatures of 30℃ have been crystallized by rapid thermal annealing method, the budget of time-temperature in the annealing process is 600℃ for 120s, 850℃ for 120s, and 950℃ for 120s. The results indicate the crystallization at 850℃ and 950℃ are better as shown in micro-Raman scattering and scanning electronic microscope.

The effect of initial discharge conditions on the properties of microcrystalline silicon thin films and solar cells

This paper studies the effects of silane back diffusion in the initial plasma ignition stage on the properties of microcrystalline silicon(μc-Si:H) films by Raman spectroscopy and spectroscopic ellipsometry,through delaying the injection of SiH4 gas to the reactor before plasma ignition.Compared with standard discharge condition,delayed SiH4 gas condition could prevent the back diffusion of SiH4 from the reactor to the deposition region effectively,which induced the formation of a thick amorphous incubation layer in the interface between bulk film and glass substrate.Applying this method,it obtains the improvement of spectral response in the middle and long wavelength region by combining this method with solar cell fabrication.Finally,results are explained by modifying zero-order analytical model,and a good agreement is found between the model and experiments concerning the optimum delayed injection time.

Open-circuit voltage analysis of p-i-n type amorphous silicon solar cells deposited at low temperature

This paper identifies the contributions of p-a-SiC:H layers and i-a-Si:H layers to the open circuit voltage of p-i-n type a-Si:H solar cells deposited at a low temperature of 125 C.We find that poor quality p-a-SiC:H films under regular conditions lead to a restriction of open circuit voltage although the band gap of the i-layer varies widely.A significant improvement in open circuit voltage has been obtained by using high quality p-a-SiC:H films optimized at the 'low-power regime' under low silane flow rates and high hydrogen dilution conditions.

High Growth Rate of Microcrystalline Silicon Films Prepared by ICP-CVD with Internal Low Inductance Antennas

The plasma parameters in ICP-CVD system with internal low inductance antennas(LIA) were diagnosed by Langmuir probe.The ions density(Ni) reached 10^(11)-10^(12) cm^(-3),and the electron temperature(T_e) was below ca.2 eV,which was slightly decreased with applied power.A p-type hydrogenated microcrystalline silicon(μc-Si:H) film was prepared on glass substrate.After optimization of the processing parameters in flow ratio of SiH_4:B_2H_6:H_2,a high quality μc-Si:H film with deposition rate above 1.0 nm/s was achieved in this work.

2H-SiC Dendritic Nanocrystals In Situ Formation from Amorphous Silicon Carbide under Electron Beam Irradiation

Under electron beam irradiation, the in-situ formation of 2H-SiC dentritic nanocrystals from amorphous silicon carbide at room temperature was observed. The homogenous transition mainly occurs at the thin edge and on the surface of specimen where the energy obtained from electron beam irradiation is high enough to cause the amorphous crystallizing into 2H-SiC.

Micromorph tandem solar cells: optimization of the microcrystalline silicon bottom cell in a single chamber system

We report on the development of single chamber deposition of microcrystalline and micromorph tandem solar cells directly onto low-cost glass substrates. The cells have pin single-junction or pin/pin double-junction structures on glass substrates coated with a transparent conductive oxide layer such as SnO 2 or ZnO. By controlling boron and phosphorus contaminations, a single-junction microcrystalline silicon cell with a conversion efficiency of 7.47% is achieved with an i-layer thickness of 1.2 μm. In tandem devices, by thickness optimization of the microcrystalline silicon bottom solar cell, we obtained an initial conversion efficiency of 9.91% with an aluminum (Al) back reflector without a dielectric layer. In order to enhance the performance of the tandem solar cells, an improved light trapping structure with a ZnO/Al back reflector is used. As a result, a tandem solar cell with 11.04% of initial conversion efficiency has been obtained.