Abstract
This work focuses on the optical properties of single- and double-layer amorphous silicon nitride (a-SiNx:H) thin films of different stoichiometry relevant for photovoltaic applications using PECVD technique. It is observed that the double layer SiNx shows better anti-reflection property over a wide range of wavelengths than a single layer. Furthermore, it is shown that the films deposited under appropriately selected processing conditions contain hydrogen, as confirmed by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy. Minority carrier lifetime measurement and short circuit current density (Jsc) values for as-deposited single-and-double layer a-SiNx:H are also investigated. The observed carrier lifetime, Jsc values and enhanced efficiency (an increment of ~ 21% with respect to the bare solar cell) shows that the a-SiNx:H double layer would achieve high absorptivity in various optoelectronic devices and hence is a promising antireflection coating for solar cells.
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Acknowledgements
We thank Prof. Vamsi Krishna Komrala of IIT Delhi's Centre for Energy Studies for his assistance with minority carrier lifetime and solar cell efficiency measurements. The Nanoscale Research Facility (NRF), IIT Delhi is acknowledged for fabrication and optical measurements.
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Financial support from Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), New Delhi, India, as well as the fellowship provided by the University Grants Commission (UGC), New Delhi, India to author Pariksha Malik.
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Pariksha Malik: Material Preparation, First Original Draft, Data collection, and Analysis; Harsh Gupta: Assisted in material deposition, analysis & data collection; Santanu Ghosh & Pankaj Srivastava: All authors have read, commented and approved the final manuscript.
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Malik, P., Gupta, H., Ghosh, S. et al. Study of Optical Properties of Single and Double Layered Amorphous Silicon Nitride Films for Photovoltaics Applications. Silicon 15, 143–151 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12633-022-02009-7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12633-022-02009-7