Mechanism of electrical passivation of Si surfaces with quinhydrone

The ability of quinhydrone/methanol solutions to electrically passivate silicon surfaces with respect to minority carrier recombination has been confirmed. The p-benzoquinon has been found to be the active component of quinhydrone. It is the presence of ketones on opposite sides of the ring that acts to passivate the surface, although the exact mechanism of passivation is not understood. The time dependence of the passivation suggests that it includes more than merely repairing damage on hydrogen terminated surfaces.