Fabrication of TiOx, by High Pressure Sputtering for Selective Contact in Photovoltaic Cells

In this work we have studied the behavior of TiO
x
growth by the unconventional technique of High-Pressure Sputtering (HPS) as an electron selective contact (ESC). This technique shows promising aspects for low-damage and low-temperature deposition, which are relevant criteria for the fabrication of heterojunction solar cells. We explored the deposition of TiO
x
with a 2-step process. First a thin Ti film is deposited in an Ar atmosphere, immediately the film is oxidized with the aid of an Ar/O
2
plasma at a relatively low temperature (150°C or 200°C). We analyzed the deposited films with XPS, FTIR and TEM measurements. Finally, Cox & Strack (C&S) structures were fabricated to obtain the specific contact resistance of TiOx/c-Si, with this data we compared different deposition processes.