Effect of deposition temperature on electron-beam evaporated polycrystalline silicon thin-film and crystallized by diode laser

Abstract

The effects of the deposition temperature on the microstructure, crystallographic orientation, and electrical properties of a 10-μm thick evaporated Si thin-film deposited on glass and crystallized using a diode laser, are investigated. The crystallization of the Si thin-film is initiated at a deposition temperature between 450 and 550 °C, and the predominant (110) orientation in the normal direction is found. Pole figure maps confirm that all films have a fiber texture and that it becomes stronger with increasing deposition temperature. Diode laser crystallization is performed, resulting in the formation of lateral grains along the laser scan direction. The laser power required to form lateral grains is higher in case of films deposited below 450 °C for all scan speeds. Pole figure maps show 75% occupancies of the (110) orientation in the normal direction when the laser crystallized film is deposited above 550 °C. A higher density of grain boundaries is obtained when the laser crystallized film is deposited below 450 °C, which limits the solar cell performance by n = 2 recombination, and a performance degradation is expected due to severe shunting.