Characterization of Nitride Silicon Layers Sin:x Enriched in Silicon at Different Stoichiometries by Photocurrent Spectroscopy Method and Mass Spectrometry of Secondary Ions

Abstract

The main objective of researches in the field of photovoltaic is to increase the efficiency. This work aims a new concept which is the integration of nanoparticles in the anti-reflection layer SiNx (silicon nitride), in order to improve the performance of solar cells. To measure the chemical composition of silicon nitride (anti reflection layer), analyzes were carried out by Mass spectrometry of secondary ions (SIMS) and also by Photocurrent spectroscopy. The principle consists in obtaining silicon nanoparticles (Si-np) in a SiNx matrix at 7 different stoichiometry. The variation of the ratio of gases R = NH3/SiH4 al-lows to vary the concentration of silicon therefore the size of the nanoparticles due to the photo-current technique we determined the absorption levels in nc-Si using two different configurations (vertical and lateral). We have proved that a lateral transport configuration has better sensitivity than a vertical configuration and that it provides more information on the different absorption thresholds due to a very considerable reduction in the contribution of the substrate. Furthermore, the results of current photo spectroscopy have shown us the potential of nc-Si for applications in the photovoltaic field with a view to improving the spectral response in the visible range of silicon solar cells through absorption. The performance of optics has increased on the high energy range. From the photocurrent analysis, the ratio R = 3 has the highest current which agrees with the results observed by the I-V characterization. Nanocrystals are seen as a challenge for all researchers and engineers to enable nanomaterial.