Ultrathin Al-doped SiO x passivating hole-selective contacts formed by a simple wet process

Abstract

Ultrathin Al-doped Si oxide (SiO x ) layers were formed by a simple wet chemical treatment, and their hole-selective passivating contact and electrical properties were investigated. From the evaluated contact resistivity (ρ c) and saturation current density (J 0), carrier selectivity (S 10) was estimated to be 13.3. Moreover, in Si nitride (SiN y )/Al-doped SiO x stacks, negative values of fixed charge density (Q f) were obtained, despite a high positive Q f existing in the single SiN y layer. This result implies that Al-doped SiO x has high negative fixed charges and overcompensates the charge polarity in the stacks, which forms an inversion layer and accumulates holes on the Si surface. Furthermore, the negative fixed charges realize excellent carrier separation by the induced upward band bending. In addition, we proposed a novel device architecture named Al-induced charged oxide inversion layer solar cells and confirmed device operation in a simple device configuration.