A New View of Microcrystalline Silicon: The Role of Plasma Processing in Achieving a Dense and Stable Absorber Material for Photovoltaic Applications

To further lower production costs and increase conversion efficiency of thin-film silicon solar modules, challenges are the deposition of high-quality microcrystalline silicon (μc-Si:H) at an increased rate and on textured substrates that guarantee efficient light trapping. A qualitative model that explains how plasma processes act on the properties of μc-Si:H and on the related solar cell performance is presented, evidencing the growth of two different material phases. The first phase, which gives signature for bulk defect density, can be obtained at high quality over a wide range of plasma process parameters and dominates cell performance on flat substrates. The second phase, which consists of nanoporous 2D regions, typically appears when the material is grown on substrates with inappropriate roughness, and alters or even dominates the electrical performance of the device. The formation of this second material phase is shown to be highly sensitive to deposition conditions and substrate geometry, especially at high deposition rates. This porous material phase is more prone to the incorporation of contaminants present in the plasma during film deposition and is reported to lead to solar cells with instabilities with respect to humidity exposure and post-deposition oxidation. It is demonstrated how defective zones influence can be mitigated by the choice of suitable plasma processes and silicon sub-oxide doped layers, for reaching high efficiency stable thin film silicon solar cells.