High temperature annealing amorphous hydrogenated SiC films for the application as window layers in Si-based solar cell

摘要

Amorphous hydrogenated silicon carbide (a-Si_(1-x)C_x:H) films were deposited by plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition and subsequently annealed in N_2 atmosphere at 1100°C. The effects of high temperature annealing on the film's optical and structural properties were systematically analyzed. It was noted that after high temperature annealing, amount of Si-C bonds increased significantly and SiC nanocrystalline was formed on the surface of the film, which resulted in an increasing refractive index in wavelength range of visible light, a decreasing absorbance index (wavelength<433.5 nm) and an increasing optical bandgap of the film. The changes of the optical properties illustrated that the performance of Si-based solar cell with a-Si_(1-x)C_x:H window layer could be improved by high temperature annealing.