Role of O2 radicals on silicone plasma treatments for a-Si:H surface passivation of PV wafers bonded to glass

Stefano Nicola Granata; Alessio Marchegiani; Twan Bearda; Loic Tous; David Cheyns; Yaser Abdulraheem; Ivan Gordon; Jozef Szlufcik; Robert Mertens; Jef Poortmans

doi:10.1002/pssa.201431945

Role of O₂ radicals on silicone plasma treatments for a-Si:H surface passivation of PV wafers bonded to glass

Stefano Nicola Granata, Alessio Marchegiani, Twan Bearda, Loic Tous, David Cheyns, Yaser Abdulraheem, Ivan Gordon, Jozef Szlufcik, Robert Mertens, Jef Poortmans

Kuwait University

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

Argon (Ar) and oxygen (O₂) plasmas are performed on silicone adhesives to eliminate the negative influence of silicone on amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) surface passivation of wafers bonded to glass. Both the Ar and O₂ plasmas lead to oxidation of the silicone surface, consisting in an increase of oxygen/carbon ratio, of degree of crosslinking, and of material density. The oxidized silicone is more resilient than pristine and does not interact with the a-Si:H passivation process, allowing for state-of-the-art surface passivation of wafers bonded to glass. Similarities between the modifications induced by the Ar and O₂ plasmas on the silicone indicate the secondary role of the O₂ radicals in the oxidation process. Moreover, amorphous/crystalline heterojunction interdigitated back contact solar cells (a-Si:H/c-Si HJ i-BC) are fabricated on freestanding and bonded wafers treated with Ar plasma. The devices show comparable open-circuit voltages of up to 675 mV, confirming at device level the efficacy of the treatment.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	1946-1953
Number of pages	8
Journal	Physica Status Solidi (A) Applications and Materials Science
Volume	212
Issue number	9
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1002/pssa.201431945
State	Published - 1 Sep 2015

Keywords

amorphous silicon
plasma treatment
polydimethylsiloxane
surface passivation

Funding Agency

Kuwait Foundation for the Advancement of Sciences

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

Access to Document

10.1002/pssa.201431945

Cite this

Granata, S. N., Marchegiani, A., Bearda, T., Tous, L., Cheyns, D., Abdulraheem, Y., Gordon, I., Szlufcik, J., Mertens, R., & Poortmans, J. (2015). Role of O₂ radicals on silicone plasma treatments for a-Si:H surface passivation of PV wafers bonded to glass. Physica Status Solidi (A) Applications and Materials Science, 212(9), 1946-1953. https://doi.org/10.1002/pssa.201431945

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title = "Role of O2 radicals on silicone plasma treatments for a-Si:H surface passivation of PV wafers bonded to glass",

abstract = "Argon (Ar) and oxygen (O2) plasmas are performed on silicone adhesives to eliminate the negative influence of silicone on amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) surface passivation of wafers bonded to glass. Both the Ar and O2 plasmas lead to oxidation of the silicone surface, consisting in an increase of oxygen/carbon ratio, of degree of crosslinking, and of material density. The oxidized silicone is more resilient than pristine and does not interact with the a-Si:H passivation process, allowing for state-of-the-art surface passivation of wafers bonded to glass. Similarities between the modifications induced by the Ar and O2 plasmas on the silicone indicate the secondary role of the O2 radicals in the oxidation process. Moreover, amorphous/crystalline heterojunction interdigitated back contact solar cells (a-Si:H/c-Si HJ i-BC) are fabricated on freestanding and bonded wafers treated with Ar plasma. The devices show comparable open-circuit voltages of up to 675 mV, confirming at device level the efficacy of the treatment.",

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author = "Granata, {Stefano Nicola} and Alessio Marchegiani and Twan Bearda and Loic Tous and David Cheyns and Yaser Abdulraheem and Ivan Gordon and Jozef Szlufcik and Robert Mertens and Jef Poortmans",

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Granata, SN, Marchegiani, A, Bearda, T, Tous, L, Cheyns, D, Abdulraheem, Y, Gordon, I, Szlufcik, J, Mertens, R & Poortmans, J 2015, 'Role of O₂ radicals on silicone plasma treatments for a-Si:H surface passivation of PV wafers bonded to glass', Physica Status Solidi (A) Applications and Materials Science, vol. 212, no. 9, pp. 1946-1953. https://doi.org/10.1002/pssa.201431945

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T1 - Role of O2 radicals on silicone plasma treatments for a-Si:H surface passivation of PV wafers bonded to glass

AU - Granata, Stefano Nicola

AU - Marchegiani, Alessio

AU - Bearda, Twan

AU - Tous, Loic

AU - Cheyns, David

AU - Abdulraheem, Yaser

AU - Gordon, Ivan

AU - Szlufcik, Jozef

AU - Mertens, Robert

AU - Poortmans, Jef

PY - 2015/9/1

Y1 - 2015/9/1

N2 - Argon (Ar) and oxygen (O2) plasmas are performed on silicone adhesives to eliminate the negative influence of silicone on amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) surface passivation of wafers bonded to glass. Both the Ar and O2 plasmas lead to oxidation of the silicone surface, consisting in an increase of oxygen/carbon ratio, of degree of crosslinking, and of material density. The oxidized silicone is more resilient than pristine and does not interact with the a-Si:H passivation process, allowing for state-of-the-art surface passivation of wafers bonded to glass. Similarities between the modifications induced by the Ar and O2 plasmas on the silicone indicate the secondary role of the O2 radicals in the oxidation process. Moreover, amorphous/crystalline heterojunction interdigitated back contact solar cells (a-Si:H/c-Si HJ i-BC) are fabricated on freestanding and bonded wafers treated with Ar plasma. The devices show comparable open-circuit voltages of up to 675 mV, confirming at device level the efficacy of the treatment.

AB - Argon (Ar) and oxygen (O2) plasmas are performed on silicone adhesives to eliminate the negative influence of silicone on amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) surface passivation of wafers bonded to glass. Both the Ar and O2 plasmas lead to oxidation of the silicone surface, consisting in an increase of oxygen/carbon ratio, of degree of crosslinking, and of material density. The oxidized silicone is more resilient than pristine and does not interact with the a-Si:H passivation process, allowing for state-of-the-art surface passivation of wafers bonded to glass. Similarities between the modifications induced by the Ar and O2 plasmas on the silicone indicate the secondary role of the O2 radicals in the oxidation process. Moreover, amorphous/crystalline heterojunction interdigitated back contact solar cells (a-Si:H/c-Si HJ i-BC) are fabricated on freestanding and bonded wafers treated with Ar plasma. The devices show comparable open-circuit voltages of up to 675 mV, confirming at device level the efficacy of the treatment.

KW - amorphous silicon

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