Deposition of device quality /spl mu/c-Si:H films by hot-wire CVD for solar cell applications

This paper presents deposition and characterizations of microcrystalline silicon (/spl mu/c-Si:H) films prepared by hot wire chemical vapor deposition at substrate temperature below 300 degC . The SiH/sub 4/ concentration [F(SiH/sub 4/)/(SiH/sub 4/)+F(H/sub 2/)] is critical parameter for the formation of Si films with microcrystalline phase. At 6.3% of silane concentration, deposited intrinsic /spl mu/c-Si:H films show sufficiently low dark conductivity and high photo sensitivity for solar cell applications. P-type /spl mu/c-Si:H films deposited by hot-wire CVD also shows good electrical properties by varying the rate of B/sub 2/H/sub 6/ to SiH/sub 4/ gas. The solar cells with structure of Al/nip /spl mu/c-Si:H/TCO/glass was fabricated with single chamber hot-wire CVD. About 3% solar efficiency was obtained and applicability of HWCVD for thin film solar cells was proven in this research.