FTIR analysis of microwave-excited PECVD silicon nitride layers
Date
2006
Authors
Cuevas, Andres
Chen, Florence
Tan, Jason
Mackel, Helmut
Winderbaum, Saul
Roth, Kristin
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OmniPress
Abstract
This paper presents infrared absorption (FTIR) measurements of SiN layers and correlates them to their ability to passivate silicon wafer surfaces. The best passivation was obtained for films having a nitrogen to silicon atomic composition in the proximity of N/Si=1.2, together with a high concentration of Si-N bonds (approximately 1×1023 cm-3) and a refractive index in the vicinity of n=2. The total hydrogen concentration in these films remained practically unchanged after a high temperature firing cycle, which indicates a good thermal stability. In contrast, silicon rich layers (higher refractive index and lower Si-N bond density) suffered a large reduction in the total hydrogen content. These results support the suggestion by ECN researchers that the Si-N bond concentration can be a good indicator of the ultimate electronic impact of the SiN layers.
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Keywords
Keywords: Electronic impact; High temperature firing cycle; Si-N bond concentration; Electric excitation; Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy; Passivation; Refractive index; Silicon wafers; Thin films; Silicon nitride
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Proceedings of the World Conference on Photovoltaic Energy Conversion 2006
Type
Conference paper
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2037-12-31
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