Silicon Nanocrystals at Elevated Temperatures: Retention of Photoluminescence and Diamond Silicon to β-Silicon Carbide Phase Transition
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Amorphous silicon carbide passivating layers for crystalline-silicon-based heterojunction solar cells
Amorphous silicon enables the fabrication of very high-efficiency crystalline-silicon-based solar cells due to its combination of excellent passivation of the crystalline silicon surface and permeability to electrical charges. Yet, amongst other limitations, the passivation it provides degrades upon high-temperature processes, limiting possible post-deposition fabrication possibilities (e.g., forcing the use of low-temperature silver pastes). We investigate the potential use of intrinsic amorphous silicon carbide passivating layers to sidestep this issue. The passivation obtained using device-relevant stacks of intrinsic amorphous silicon carbide with various carbon contents and doped amorphous silicon are evaluated, and their stability upon annealing assessed, amorphous silicon carbide being shown to surpass amorphous silicon for temperatures above 300 °C. We demonstrate open-circuit voltage values over 700 mV for complete cells, and an improved temperature stability for the open-circuit voltage. Transport of electrons and holes across the hetero-interface is studied with complete cells having amorphous silicon carbide either on the hole-extracting side or on the electron-extracting side, and a better transport of holes than of electrons is shown. Also, due to slightly improved transparency, complete solar cells using an amorphous silicon carbide passivation layer on the hole-collecting side are demonstrated to show slightly better performances even prior to annealing than obtained with a standard amorphous silicon layer.
71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
Realization of a wide steering end-fire facet optical phased array using silicon rich silicon nitride
The design, fabrication, and characterization of a 16-element optical phased array (OPA) using a high index (n = 3.1) silicon-rich silicon nitride (SRN) is demonstrated. Here, we present one-dimensional beam steering with end-fire facet antennas over a wide steering range of >115° at a fixed wavelength of 1525 nm. A beam width of 6.3° has been measured at boresight, consistent with theory. We demonstrate SRN as a viable material choice for chip-scale OPA applications due to its high thermo-optic coefficient, high optical power handling capacity [negligible two-photon absorption (TPA)], wide transparency window, and CMOS compatibility.
Nejadriahi, Hani↗
MeV Au Ion Irradiation in Silicon and Nanocrystalline Zirconia Film Deposited on Silicon Substrate
Nanocrystalline zirconia (ZrO2) film with thickness of 305 nm deposited on a silicon substrate was irradiated with 2 MeV Au ions to different fluences at different temperatures. The implanted ion profiles were measured by time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (ToF-SIMS) and simulated using the stopping and range of ions inmatter (SRIM) code, respectively. The experimental results show that a large fraction of the incident Au ions penetrates through the ZrO2 film and are deposited into the Si substrate. At the interface of ZrO2 and Si, a sudden decrease of Au concentration is observed due to the much larger scattering cross section of Au in ZrO2 than in Si. The depth profile of the Au ions is measured in both the ZrO2 films and the Si substrates, and the results show that the Au distribution profiles do not exhibit a dependence on irradiation temperature. The local Au concentration increases proportionally with the irradiation fluence, suggesting that no thermal or irradiation-induced redistribution of the implanted Au ions. However, the Au concentration in the ZrO2 films, as determined by SIMS, is considerably lower than that predicted by the SRIM results, and the penetration depth from the SIMS measurements is much deeper than that from the SRIM predictions. These observations can be explained by an overestimation of the electronic stopping power, used in the SRIM program, for heavy incident ions in light targets. Over-estimation of the heavy-ion electronic stopping power may lead to errors in local dose calculation and underestimation of the projected range of slow heavy ions in targets that contain light elements. A quick estimate based on a reduced target density may be used to compensate the overestimation of the electronic stopping power in the SRIM program to provide better ion profile prediction.
Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory↗
Slicing of silicon into sheet material: Silicon sheet growth development for the large area silicon sheet task of the low cost silicon solar array project
Multiblade slurry sawing is used to slice 10 cm diameter silicon ingots into wafers 0.024 cm thick using 0.050 cm of silicon per slice (0.026 cm kerf loss). Total slicing time is less than twenty hours, and 143 slices are produced simultaneously. Productivity (slice area per hour per blade) is shown as a function or blade load and thickness, and abrasive size. Finer abrasive slurries cause a reduction in slice productivity, and thin blades cause a reduction of wafer accuracy. Sawing induced surface damage is found to extend 18 microns into the wafer.
Holden, S. C.↗
Silicon on ceramic process. Silicon sheet growth development for the large-area silicon sheet task of the low-cost silicon solar array project
The technical and economic feasibility of producing solar-cell-quality sheet silicon was investigated. The sheets were made by coating one surface of carbonized ceramic substrates with a thin layer of large-grain polycrystalline silicon from the melt. Significant progress was made in all areas of the program.
Zook, J. D.↗
Slicing of silicon into sheet material. Silicon sheet growth development for the large area silicon sheet task of the low cost silicon solar array project
Fabrication of a prototype large capacity multiple blade slurry saw is considered. Design of the bladehead which will tension up to 1000 blades, and cut a 45 cm long silicon ingot as large as 12 cm in diameter is given. The large blade tensioning force of 270,000 kg is applied through two bolts acting on a pair of scissor toggles, significantly reducing operator set-up time. Tests with an upside-down cutting technique resulted in 100% wafering yields and the highest wafer accuracy yet experienced with MS slicing. Variations in oil and abrasives resulted only in degraded slicing results. A technique of continuous abrasive slurry separation to remove silicon debris is described.
Holden, S. C.↗
Delayed fracture of silicon: Silicon sheet growth development for the large area silicon sheet task of the low cost silicon solar array project
Bar specimens were cut from ingots of single crystal silicon, and acid etched prior to testing. Artificial surface flaws were introduced in specimens by indentation with a Knoop hardness tester. The specimens were loaded in four-point bending to 95 percent of the nominal fracture stress, while keeping the surface area, containing the flaw, wet with test liquids. No evidence of delayed fracture, and, therefore stress corrosion, of single crystal silicon was observed for liquid environments including water, acetone, and aqueous solutions of NaCl, NH4OH, and HNO3, when tested with a flaw parallel to a (110) surface. The fracture toughness was calculated.
Chen, T. J.↗
Model for the formation of silicon carbide from the pyrolysis of dichlorodimethylsilane in hydrogen. I - Silicon formation from chlorosilanes. II - Silicon carbide formation from silicon and methane
In the first part of this work, a model is developed for the deposition of silicon from the reduction of silicon tetrachloride with hydrogen in a tubular reactor at 700-1100 C, at atmospheric pressure. The model is based on gas chromatography of the volatile products of the reaction, followed by gravimetric analysis of total Si deposition on the tube. In the second part of this work, a model is developed for the case of SiC deposition from the pyrolysis of dichlorodimethylsilane in hydrogen under the same reactor conditions. The rate constants derived from a nonlinear regression analysis are reported.
Cagliostro, Domenick E.↗
Nuclear-recoil energy scale in CDMS II silicon dark-matter detectors
The Cryogenic Dark Matter Search (CDMS II) experiment aims to detect dark matter particles that elastically scatter from nuclei in semiconductor detectors. The resulting nuclear-recoil energy depositions are detected by ionization and phonon sensors. Neutrons produce a similar spectrum of low-energy nuclear recoils in such detectors, while most other backgrounds produce electron recoils. The absolute energy scale for nuclear recoils is necessary to interpret results correctly. The energy scale can be determined in CDMS II silicon detectors using neutrons incident from a broad-spectrum 252Cf source, taking advantage of a prominent resonance in the neutron elastic scattering cross section of silicon at a recoil (neutron) energy near 20 (182) keV. Results indicate that the phonon collection efficiency for nuclear recoils is 4.8+0.7-0.9% lower than for electron recoils of the same energy. Comparisons of the ionization signals for nuclear recoils to those measured previously by other groups at higher electric fields indicate that the ionization collection efficiency for CDMS II silicon detectors operated at ~4 V/cm is consistent with 100% for nuclear recoils below 20 keV and gradually decreases for larger energies to ~75% at 100 keV. The impact of these measurements on previously published CDMS II silicon results is small.
dark matter, detector calibration, ionization yiel↗
Method and apparatus for stable silicon dioxide layers on silicon grown in silicon nitride ambient
A method and apparatus for thermally growing stable silicon dioxide layers on silicon is disclosed. A previously etched and baked silicon nitride tube placed in a furnace is used to grow the silicon dioxide. First, pure oxygen is allowed to flow through the tube to initially coat the inside surface of the tube with a thin layer of silicon dioxide. After the tube is coated with the thin layer of silicon dioxide, the silicon is oxidized thermally in a normal fashion. If the tube becomes contaminated, the silicon dioxide is etched off thereby exposing clean silicon nitride and then the inside of the tube is recoated with silicon dioxide. As is disclosed, the silicon nitride tube can also be used as the ambient for the pyrolytic decomposition of silane and ammonia to form thin layers of clean silicon nitride.
Cohen, R. A.↗
Photoelectric characteristics of silicon carbide–silicon structures grown by the atomic substitution method in a silicon crystal lattice
Data obtained in an experimental study of the photoelectric characteristics of silicon–silicon carbide structures grown by the atomic substitution method on silicon (100) and (111) substrates are presented. It is found that the maximum sunlight conversion efficiency of a silicon–silicon carbide (silicon carbide–silicon) heterojunction is 5.4%. The theory of dilatation dipole formation upon synthesis by the atomic substitution method is used to account for the mechanism of electrical barrier formation at the silicon–silicon carbide interface.
36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
Polycrystalline silicon study: Low-cost silicon refining technology prospects and semiconductor-grade polycrystalline silicon availability through 1988
Photovoltaic arrays that convert solar energy into electrical energy can become a cost effective bulk energy generation alternative, provided that an adequate supply of low cost materials is available. One of the key requirements for economic photovoltaic cells is reasonably priced silicon. At present, the photovoltaic industry is dependent upon polycrystalline silicon refined by the Siemens process primarily for integrated circuits, power devices, and discrete semiconductor devices. This dependency is expected to continue until the DOE sponsored low cost silicon refining technology developments have matured to the point where they are in commercial use. The photovoltaic industry can then develop its own source of supply. Silicon material availability and market pricing projections through 1988 are updated based on data collected early in 1984. The silicon refining industry plans to meet the increasing demands of the semiconductor device and photovoltaic product industries are overviewed. In addition, the DOE sponsored technology research for producing low cost polycrystalline silicon, probabilistic cost analysis for the two most promising production processes for achieving the DOE cost goals, and the impacts of the DOE photovoltaics program silicon refining research upon the commercial polycrystalline silicon refining industry are addressed.
Costogue, E. N.↗
Hot forming of silicon sheet, silicon sheet growth development for the large area silicon sheet task of the low cost silicon solar array project
The hot workability of polycrystalline silicon was studied. Uniaxail stress-strain curves are given for strain rates in the range of .0001 to .1/sec and temperatures from 1100 to 1380 C. At the highest strain rates at 1380 C axial strains in excess of 20% were easily obtainable without cracking. After deformations of 36%, recrystallization was completed within 0.1 hr at 1380 C. When the recrystallization was complete, there was still a small volume fraction of unrecyrstallized material which appeared very stable and may degrade the electronic properties of the bulk materials. Texture measurements showed that the as-produced vapor deposited polycrystalline rods have a 110 fiber texture with the 110 direction parallel to the growth direction and no preferred orientation about this axis. Upon axial compression perpendicular to the growth direction, the former 110 fiber axis changed to 111 and the compression axis became 110 . Recrystallization changed the texture to 110 along the former fiber axis and to 100 along the compression axis.
Graham, C. D., Jr.↗
Slicing of Silicon into Sheet Material: Silicon Sheet Growth Development for the Large Area Silicon Sheet Task of the Low Cost Silicon Solar Array Project
Testing of low cost low suspension power slurry vehicles is presented. Cutting oils are unlikely to work, but a mineral oil with additives should be workable. Two different abrasives were tested. A cheaper silicon carbide from Norton gave excellent results except for excessive kerf loss: the particles were too big. An abrasive treated for lubricity showed no lubricity improvement in mineral oil vehicle. The bounce fixture was tested for the first time under constant cut rate conditions (rather than constant force). Although the cut was not completed before the blades broke, the blade lifetime of thin (100 micrometer) blades was 120 times the lifetime without the fixture. The large prototype saw completed a successful run, producing 90% cutting yield (849 wafers) at 20 wafers/cm. Although inexperience with large numbers of wafers caused cleaning breakage to reduce this yield to 74%, the yield was high enough that the concept of the large saw is proven workable.
Fleming, J. R.↗
Oxide driven strength evolution of silicon surfaces
Previous experiments have shown a link between oxidation and strength changes in single crystal silicon nanostructures but provided no clues as to the mechanisms leading to this relationship. Using atomic force microscope-based fracture strength experiments, molecular dynamics modeling, and measurement of oxide development with angle resolved x-ray spectroscopy we study the evolution of strength of silicon (111) surfaces as they oxidize and with fully developed oxide layers. We find that strength drops with partial oxidation but recovers when a fully developed oxide is formed and that surfaces intentionally oxidized from the start maintain their high initial strengths. MD simulations show that strength decreases with the height of atomic layer steps on the surface. These results are corroborated by a completely separate line of testing using micro-scale, polysilicon devices, and the slack chain method in which strength recovers over a long period of exposure to the atmosphere. Combining our results with insights from prior experiments we conclude that previously described strength decrease is a result of oxidation induced roughening of an initially flat silicon (1 1 1) surface and that this effect is transient, a result consistent with the observation that surfaces flatten upon full oxidation.
71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
Silicon-on ceramic process: Silicon sheet growth and device development for the large-area silicon sheet task of the low-cost solar array project
The technical feasibility of producing solar-cell-quality sheet silicon to meet the Department of Energy (DOE) 1986 overall price goal of $0.70/watt was investigated. With the silicon-on-ceramic (SOC) approach, a low-cost ceramic substrate is coated with large-grain polycrystalline silicon by unidirectional solidification of molten silicon. This effort was divided into several areas of investigation in order to most efficiently meet the goals of the program. These areas include: (1) dip-coating; (2) continuous coating designated SCIM-coating, and acronym for Silicon Coating by an Inverted Meniscus (SCIM); (3) material characterization; (4) cell fabrication and evaluation; and (5) theoretical analysis. Both coating approaches were successful in producing thin layers of large grain, solar-cell-quality silicon. The dip-coating approach was initially investigated and considerable effort was given to this technique. The SCIM technique was adopted because of its scale-up potential and its capability to produce more conventiently large areas of SOC.
Grung, B. L.↗