Journal article
Ultrathin atomic layer deposited niobium oxide as a passivation layer in silicon based photovoltaics
Journal of applied physics, v 130(21), 215301
07 Dec 2021
Featured in Collection : UN Sustainable Development Goals @ Drexel
Abstract
Atomic layer deposited (ALD) niobium oxide (NbOx) films were investigated for their passivation properties through minority carrier lifetime measurements and compared to a well-known passivating material, aluminum oxide. ALD alumina is known to passivate by a combination of field-effect passivation from fixed charges and chemical passivation from hydrogenation of dangling bonds. It was hypothesized that niobium oxide films passivate by varying degrees of the same mechanisms found in alumina. The effects of ALD oxygen source (water or ozone) and varying anneal temperatures were correlated to passivation quality. Lifetimes of sub-1 nanometer films were specifically investigated. It was found that water is a superior oxidant for passivation relative to O-3. Thermally activated NbOx films deposited with water have near equivalent or superior lifetimes to alumina of the same thickness after equivalent annealing at temperatures up to 350 & DEG;C. Chemical analyses by x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) were used to investigate the suspected mechanisms of passivation. It was suggested that field-effect passivation is the dominating mechanism in NbOx films based on correlations between band movement as probed by XPS and the lifetime data presented in this work. This work provides new insights into the applicability of niobium oxide as a passivating selective contact for silicon photovoltaics with the goal of reaching new record efficiencies in solar cells.
Metrics
Details
- Title
- Ultrathin atomic layer deposited niobium oxide as a passivation layer in silicon based photovoltaics
- Creators
- Connor J. Leach - Lehigh UniversityBenjamin E. Davis - Lehigh UniversityBen M. Garland - Lehigh UniversityRyan Thorpe - Lehigh UniversityNicholas C. Strandwitz - Lehigh University
- Publication Details
- Journal of applied physics, v 130(21), 215301
- Publisher
- AIP Publishing
- Number of pages
- 7
- Grant note
- CBET-1605129 / U.S. National Science Foundation; National Science Foundation (NSF)
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Language
- English
- Academic Unit
- A.J. Drexel Nanomaterials Institute
- Web of Science ID
- WOS:000728007300001
- Scopus ID
- 2-s2.0-85121235891
- Other Identifier
- 991021881401004721
UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
This publication has contributed to the advancement of the following goals:
InCites Highlights
Data related to this publication, from InCites Benchmarking & Analytics tool:
- Web of Science research areas
- Physics, Applied