CZ Silicon Wafers Research Articles

Characterization of light induced degradation in PECVD silicon nitride passivated Cz silicon wafers using spectroscopic techniques

In this work we investigate the chemical species involved in the light induced degradation of plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposited (PECVD) hydrogenated silicon nitride (SiNx:H) passivated p-type and n-type samples under normal outdoor ambient conditions. The electrical characterization measurements along with Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) and photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopic techniques were utilized in this study. Significant reduction in effective minority carrier lifetime values and band to band PL intensities were noticed for both p-type and n-type samples after outdoor light soaking. The apparent defect density increased from 3.39 × 10−3 µs−1 to 1.68 × 10−2 µs−1 and 3.42 × 10−4 µs−1 to 3.46 × 10−3 µs−1, respectively for p-type and n-type samples after light soaking of 111 h corresponding to cumulative solar insolation of 95.7 kWh/m2. The changes in FTIR absorbance intensities of chemical species such as SiNyHa, SiNzHb, SiHm, SiO2i and SiOn after light soaking confirmed the role of oxygen in addition to hydrogen in both p-type and n-type samples. Spectroscopic PL analysis further validated the decrease in concentration of silicon-oxygen species and reduction in effective lifetime for n-type samples. We demonstrate that the chemical species contributing to light induced bulk and surface degradation can be identified by FTIR and PL spectroscopic techniques. This work would be beneficial for understanding, modeling and mitigating the degradation mechanisms in Cz silicon wafers passivated using PECVD dielectric films.

Annealing-temperature-dependent evolution of hydrogen-related donor and its strong correlation with X-photoluminescence center in proton-irradiated silicon

We have investigated the formation and decay of hydrogen-related donors (HDs) and irradiation-induced intrinsic defects. N-type m:Cz and FZ silicon wafers, which were irradiated with 2 MeV protons and subsequently annealed at 100–600 °C, were analyzed using spreading resistance profiling and photoluminescence (PL). HDs formed at 260 °C and then disappeared in two stages at 400–440 and 500–540 °C. This decay behavior indicates the existence of two types of HDs with different thermal stabilities. PL measurements showed interstitial silicon clusters (W and X center), a carbon–oxygen complex (C center), and exciton lines bound to unknown shallow centers. The origin of the HDs was investigated based on the correlation of the formation and decay temperatures between HDs and irradiation-induced defects. The predominant defects at the early stage of annealing, such as the C and W centers, are ruled out as candidates for the core defects of HDs because annealing above 260 °C is indispensable for the HD formation. In contrast, the X center was found to be thermally generated above 200 °C and disappeared at 580 °C. The similarity of the formation and decay temperatures between the X and HD centers suggests that HDs are associated with the formation of the interstitial silicon-related defects attached to hydrogen. Our results suggest that controlling the formation of interstitial silicon-related defects is important for realizing desirable doping profiles with high accuracy and reproducibility for power devices. Annealing above 400 °C exclusively provides thermally more stable HDs, leading to the realization of more rugged power devices.

Comprehensive characterization of efficiency limiting defects in the swirl-shaped region of Czochralski silicon

For Czochralski silicon (Cz-Si) solar cells, swirl-shaped regions in silicon wafers could lead to efficiency degradation, usually accompanied by hot spots and thermal breakdown. In this paper, comprehensive characterization methods including electroluminescence (EL), photo-induced current (LBIC), quantum efficiency (QE), cell efficiency, carrier lifetime, scanning electron microscope (SEM), Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), and deep level transient spectroscopy (DLTS) were used to investigate the formation and properties of the Swirl defects. It is found that there exists a strong correlation between the as-grown swirl defects and the degradation in cell performance. The Swirl defects cause an energy level of E v + 0.33 eV in silicon bandgap, with the capture cross section of 2.3 × 10 −15 cm 2 , which is consistent with the feature of silicon/oxide interface states. The swirl defects can further be evolved into stacking faults after annealing at 1050 °C for 16 h, and cause an additional energy level of E v + 0.42 eV with the capture cross section is 1.0 × 10 −14 cm 2 . These results suggest that oxygen precipitates are the vital component or precursor for the formation of swirl-shaped regions in Cz silicon wafers. • A comprehensive study of the nature of Swirl defects in the photovoltaic Czochralski silicon is obtained. • The direct evidence that Swirl defects are related to oxygen precipitates is provided by deep level transient spectroscopy (DLTS) measurements. • The influence of Swirl defects on solar cell performances and material properties is characterized.

Large‐Area Boron‐Doped 1.6 Ω cm p‐Type Czochralski Silicon Heterojunction Solar Cells with a Stable Open‐Circuit Voltage of 736 mV and Efficiency of 22.0%

Herein, large‐area defect‐engineered p‐type silicon heterojunction (SHJ) solar cells using standard 1.6 Ω cm commercial‐grade boron‐doped Czochralski (Cz) silicon wafers are fabricated. It is demonstrated that despite achieving an open‐circuit voltage of 735 mV with an efficiency of 21.6% for gettered samples, without appropriate treatment, the cells are heavily susceptible to boron–oxygen‐related light‐induced degradation (LID), with the effective lifetime at maximum power point decreasing to 13 μs. This degradation results in a loss of efficiency of more than 3.1%abs (14.3%rel) after 48 h of light soaking. However, the addition of an advanced hydrogenation postcell fabrication process increases the efficiency by 0.2%abs to 21.8%, and dramatically reduces susceptibility of LID, decreasing the extent of degradation to 0.2%abs (0.9%rel). A peak stable independently measured efficiency of 22.0% with an open‐circuit voltage (VOC) of 736 mV is achieved with the addition of a dedicated high‐temperature prefabrication hydrogenation. These results indicate that p‐type Cz wafers can be used to fabricate stable, next‐generation high‐efficiency solar cells using silicon heterojunctions or other passivated contact architectures requiring VOCS well above 700 mV.

The Technical and Economic Viability of Replacing n-type with p-type Wafers for Silicon Heterojunction Solar Cells

Summary Silicon heterojunction (SHJ) solar cells formed using n-type Cz silicon wafers are attracting increasing industrial interest. Cheaper p-type Cz silicon wafers can also be used to form SHJ cells; however, they achieve lower efficiencies. In this work, a Monte Carlo simulation approach is used to provide a comprehensive commercial comparison between n-type and p-type wafers, considering a wide range of uncertainty in the cost of production, the cost of the wafers, and cell performance. The most critical factors influencing the commercial comparison between wafer types were identified as the difference in cell efficiency, the difference in cost between n-type and p-type wafers, and the SHJ processing costs. The analysis provides a target for p-type SHJ solar cells of being within 0.4% absolute of that obtained with n-type wafers. This work motivates and sets research targets for the development of SHJ solar cells fabricated on p-type wafers.

Development of integration-type silicon-on-insulator monolithic pixel detectors using a float zone silicon

In this paper, we describe the development of monolithic pixel detectors using silicon-on-insulator (SOI) technology for a rapid X-ray residual stress measurement system. Conventional two-dimensional X-ray detectors are not suitable for rapid X-ray residual stress measurement because of their large pixel size and slow readout. For this reason, we developed highly sensitive SOI monolithic pixel detectors that are made up of smaller pixels and can provide a more rapid X-ray residual stress measurement readout. The detectors are fabricated using a 0.2μm CMOS fully-depleted SOI process (Lapis Semiconductor Co., Ltd). The SOI wafer is made by directly bonding a thick, high-resistivity Si wafer and a low-resistivity Si CMOS wafer. The process does not make use of mechanical bump bonding. We developed an integration-type SOI pixel detector, INTPIX4, for a rapid X-ray residual stress measurement system; it uses a float zone (FZ) or Czochralski (Cz) silicon wafer. Cz SOI detectors have been in use since 2005. After 2011, FZ SOI detectors were successfully fabricated. In this paper, we state recent progresses and test results of the SOI monolithic pixel detector using a FZ silicon and compare them with the results obtained using the Cz detector.

Effects of Antimony- and Tin-Doping on the Mechanical Propertiesof Czochralski Silicon: Revealing the Role of Electrical Activity of Antimony

The mechanical properties of Czochralski (Cz) silicon wafers dictate fundamental limits on the fabrication of diverse electronic devices. Certain impurities with sufficiently high concentrations may affect the mechanical properties of Cz silicon. The underlying mechanisms for such influences have been being explored in the past decades. In this work, the effects of antimony (Sb)- and tin (Sn)-doping at 1018 cm−3 level on the mechanical properties of Czochralski (Cz) silicon have been comparatively investigated. Since Sb and Sn have quite close tetrahedral covalent radii in silicon, the lattice strains resulted from Sb- and Sn-doping and their consequent effects on the mechanical properties of silicon are approximately identical. In silicon, Sb is an electrically active impurity while Sn is a neutral one. Therefore, the present work can essentially reveal the role of electrical activity of Sb playing in the mechanical properties of Cz silicon. It is found that Sb-doped Cz (Sb-Cz) silicon possesses a slightly higher hardness than Sn-doped Cz (Sn-Cz) silicon. Moreover, the dislocation gliding at 500 or 600 °C in Sb-Cz silicon requires a much larger critical resolved shear stress than that in Sn-Cz silicon. At such two temperatures, Sb-Cz silicon remains to be n-type in electrical conduction. The aforementioned two results are believed to be ascribed to the resistance of dislocation motion by the Coulomb interaction between the positively charged Sb ions and the dislocations that are deep-level acceptors thus being negatively charged in Sb-Cz silicon. As the temperature is increased to 700 °C and above, the dislocation gliding in Sb-Cz silicon is not substantially different from that in Sn-Cz silicon. At such elevated temperatures, Sb-Cz silicon becomes intrinsic in electrical conduction like Sn-Cz silicon. In this context, there is no Coulomb interaction between Sb ions and dislocations anymore to impede the dislocation gliding in Sb-Cz silicon. In addition, it is found that the indentation fracture toughness of Sb-Cz is almost the same as that of Sn-Cz silicon. Actually, the fracture of silicon is essentially a cleavage process, to which the electrical activity of Sb is irrelevant.

Optimization of IBC c-Si (n) Solar Cell Using 2D Physical Modeling

This research paper demonstrates the use of doping concentration effect of front surface field (FSF), back surface field (BSF), and emitter for high-efficiency of n-type monocrystalline silicon (c-Si) interdigitated back-contact (IBC) solar cells using Silvaco TCAD package. The integrated-back contact solar cell is considering as a promising structure due to its high conversion efficiency, thinner substrate, and low-temperature processing of the substrate configuration. From previous research works, the considered IBC cell of 150-μm thick n-type CZ silicon wafers with a half-pitch size of 500 μm is studied and improved for either product quality and lower operating costs. The optimum conversion efficiency of about 24.79% has been achieved with open-circuit voltage up to 726 mV under the AM1.5 spectrum. Furthermore, the solar incident angle plays a critical factor affecting the considered device characteristics and performance of the fixed PV modules.

Activation of electrical defects under Rapid Thermal Annealing in Cz-silicon for solar cells application

Boron-Oxygen related defects causes electrical degradation of the solar cells under a prolonged illumination exposure which commonly known as LID phenomena. To neutralize these defects we can use an optimized thermal treatment of the Cz–Si wafers. The aim of this work is to study the effect of the Rapid Thermal Annealing (RTA) on the optical and electrical properties of the P-type Cz–Silicon wafers destined to solar cell fabrication. Using optical microscopy we have observed a thermal stress effect on the silicon surface morphology. Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) spectra reveal peaks corresponding to the oxygen dimers the related VOx vacancy-oxygen species like and new thermal donors (NTD) were indicating their activation during the thermal processing setup. We observe electrical degradation in the effective carrier lifetime τeff from 270 μs to 2 μs at a temperature peak T = 1000 °C. The results of the present work allow us to optimize the adequate RTA profile to neutralize the LID due to the BO defects without electrical degradation quality of the Cz–Si wafers.

Comparison on mechanical properties of heavily phosphorus- and arsenic-doped Czochralski silicon wafers

Heavily phosphorus (P)- and arsenic (As)-doped Czochralski silicon (CZ-Si) wafers generally act as the substrates for the epitaxial silicon wafers used to fabricate power and communication devices. The mechanical properties of such two kinds of n-type heavily doped CZ silicon wafers are vital to ensure the quality of epitaxial silicon wafers and the manufacturing yields of devices. In this work, the mechanical properties including the hardness, Young’s modulus, indentation fracture toughness and the resistance to dislocation motion have been comparatively investigated for heavily P- and As-doped CZ-Si wafers. It is found that heavily P-doped CZ-Si possesses somewhat higher hardness, lower Young’s modulus, larger indentation fracture toughness and stronger resistance to dislocation motion than heavily As-doped CZ-Si. The mechanisms underlying this finding have been tentatively elucidated by considering the differences in the doping effects of P and As in silicon.

Investigation of Degradation of Electrical Properties after Thermal Oxidation of p-Type Cz-Silicon Wafers

Investigation of Degradation of Electrical Properties after Thermal Oxidation of p-Type Cz-Silicon Wafers

Status of Industrial Back Junction n-type Si Solar Cell Development

Here we present the latest results of our double side contacted, all screen printed n-type mono silicon solar cell development. N-type Czochralski (n-Cz) silicon solar cell results are compared to those of standard p-type Cz (p-Cz) silicon and n-type epitaxial (np+ epi) wafers, produced by Crystal Solar, having an integrated epitaxial boron doped p+-silicon layer. The np+ epi and p-Cz wafers are processed applying the Hanwha Q CELLS Q.ANTUM technology process flow to make PERC cells in our production line including process adaptations to mono wafers while the n-Cz wafers are processed with an extended Q.ANTUM sequence including additional processing steps like cleaning steps and a BBr3 tube furnace diffusion to create the rear side boron p+-silicon layer. We achieve conversion efficiencies up to 21.8% for the n-type Cz silicon back junction solar cell with open circuit voltage values of 671mV. The p-type Cz silicon solar cell shows non-stabilized efficiencies up to 21.2%. The n-type epitaxial solar cells have efficiencies up to 21.7% with fill factor values of up to 82.1% due to the high rear side conductivity of the integrated epitaxial boron doped p+-silicon layer. The latter solar cell results demonstrate a new path to industrial solar cells with efficiencies >22% by combination of simple and robust solar cell processing and epitaxial wafer growth with built-in doping layers.

Thermal History Index as a bulk quality indicator for Czochralski solar wafers

A significant fraction of Czochralski (Cz) Silicon (Si) wafers suffer from oxygen-related bulk quality issues. The detection of such wafers in the as-cut state during incoming inspection has become a topic of attention as higher efficiency solar cell structures are developing. However such detection - for instance using photoluminescence images – has not yet proven successful due to a high risk of detection errors Shih et al. (2015) [1]. In this work, we tentatively introduce a material quality indicator referred to as “Thermal History Index” (THI) and investigate its ability, in conjunction with the interstitial oxygen concentration ([Oi]), to allow a better identification of low bulk quality wafers.

Phosphorous diffusion gettering of n-type CZ silicon wafers for improving the performances of silicon heterojunction solar cells

Phosphorous diffusion gettering (PDG) for different kinds of commercial n-type CZ silicon wafers was investigated for the application in silicon heterojunction (SHJ) solar cells. It was found that surplus phosphorus diffusion was effective in improving the effective minority carrier lifetime (τeff). Highest τeff was obtained at the optimal diffusion temperature of 840°C, which was almost independent on the diffusion duration at a wide region from 5 to 60min, corresponding to a sheet resistance region from 85 to 21Ω/sq. The segregation coefficient and gettering sites were considered responsible for the gettering mechanism. When the optimized PDG process was applied to SHJ solar cells with three different groups of commercial Si wafers, the average efficiencies were improved from 21.2% to 22.4%, 21.5% to 22.4%, and 22.1% to 22.5%, respectively, where the efficiency gains were mainly contributed by the improvements of open-circuit voltage and fill factor.

Electrical Properties and Nanoresistive Switching of Ni-HfO2-Si Capacitors

Resistive random access memory (ReRAM) devices based on HfO2, in which a conducting filament (CF) that acts as a circuit breaker/switch between the electrodes, are studied intensively because of its high compatibility with CMOS process beyond the 22 nm node [1]. The breaking and forming of a CF occurs over a nanometer-scale region in a timespan of nanoseconds [2]. In order to explore their potential applications, it is imperative to investigate the cryogenic performance of these devices [3]. In this work, the electrical characterization of Ni/HfO2/Si ReRAM devices is carried out. Unipolar resistive switching (RS) loops are reported in the whole temperature range studied (77 - 473 K). The MOS devices were fabricated on (100) n-type CZ silicon wafers with resistivity in the range (7-13) mµÙ·cm. The 20 nm-thick HfO2 layers were deposited by atomic layer deposition (ALD). The top Ni electrode was deposited by magnetron sputtering. A complete electrical characterization with focus on the oxide and oxide-semiconductor quality assessment was performed in a cryogenic system with liquid nitrogen. Fig. 1 shows the Poole-Frenkel fitting of I-V curves at several temperatures. Data fit well especially in a limited high E-field range [4, 5], and indicates that the main conduction is bulk limited, associated with the field enhanced thermal excitation of charge carriers from traps. The theoretical value of field-lowering coefficient, βPF, of HfO2 is 1.5∙10-5 eV m1/2V-1/2 [6]. The experimental values are reasonably in agreement with the theoretical one. In Fig. 2 current-temperature dependence for several bias voltages is shown. In the 150-300 K temperature range the relationship between ln(I) and 1/kBT is clearly lineal, and the slopes of the lines do not vary appreciably with the applied voltage, indicating that the conduction takes place through an activated process having a single activation energy, ΔEσ. The activation energy values obtained are similar to those previously reported for HfO2[7]. As the temperature decreases below 155 K the current becomes temperature independent. This can be attributed either to the presence of the competing emission mechanisms or to the device self-heating [8]. After the study of pristine samples, the MIS devices were electroformed by DC reverse bias sweeping from 0 to 13 V with a current compliance of 0.1 mA. Electroforming causes a current-limited oxide breakdown, and a metallic filament is created [9]. So, devices are taken to the low resistance state (LRS). A cycle is completed when the CF is broken by applying a reset voltage and samples switch to the high resistance state (HRS). I-V cycles were recorded using an HP4155B semiconductor parameter analyzer in the voltage sweep mode with current compliance of 0.1 mA for the HRS state and 100 mA for the LRS state (Fig. 3). A whole discussion of all the experimental results will be given at the conference. [1] S. M. Yu, X. M. Guan, and H. S. P. Wong, Appl. Phys. Lett. 99, 063507 (2011). [2] D. S. Jeong, R. Thomas, R. S. Katiyar, J. F. Scott, H. Kohlstedt, A. Petraru, and C. S. Hwang, Reports on Progress in Physics, 75, 076502 (2012). [3] R. Fang, W. Chen, L. Gao, W. Yu, and S. Yu, IEEE Electron Dev. Lett. 36, 567 (2015). [4] C. Walczyk, D. Walczyk, T. Schroeder, et al, IEEE Trans on Electron Dev. 58, 3124 (2011). [5] S. Dueñas, H. Castán, H. García, et al, J. Vac. Sci. Technol. B, 27, 389 (2009). [6] D. S. Jeong, H. B. Park, and C. S. Hwang, Appl. Phys. Lett. 86, 072903 (2005). [7] S. Dueñas, H. Castán, H. García, et al, Semicond. Sci. Technol. 22, 1344 (2007). [8] O. Mitrofanov, and M. Manfra, J. Appl. Phys. 95, 6414 (2004). [9] C. Nauenheim, C. Kuegeler, A. Ruediger, and R. Waser, Appl. Phys. Lett. 96, 122902 (2010). Figure 1

Photocarrier Radiometry Investigation of Light-Induced Degradation of Boron-Doped Czochralski-Grown Silicon Without Surface Passivation

Light-induced degradation (LID) effects of boron-doped Cz silicon wafers without surface passivation are investigated in details by photocarrier radiometry (PCR). The resistivity of all samples is in the range of 0.006 Omega.cm to 38 Omega.cm. It is found that light-induced changes in surface state occupation have a great effect on LID under illumination. With the increasing contribution of light-induced changes in surface state occupation, the generation rate of the defect decreases. The light-induced changes in surface state occupation and light-induced degradation dominate the temporal behaviors of the excess carrier density of high- and low-resistivity Si wafers, respectively. Moreover, the temporal behaviors of PCR signals of these samples under laser illumination with different powers, energy of photons, and multiple illuminations were also analyzed to understand the light-induced change of material properties. Based on the nonlinear dependence of PCR signal on the excitation power, a theoretical model taking into account both light-induced changes in surface state occupation and LID processes was proposed to explain those temporal behaviors.

335-W World-Record p-Type Monocrystalline Module With 20.6% Efficient PERC Solar Cells

The objective of this study is to optimize module technologies to obtain the lowest price per Watt peak ($/W <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">p</sub> ) ratio and the maximum power output of a flat-plate module for a given number of high-efficiency solar cells. Using B-doped ptype monocrystalline Cz silicon wafers, 500 pieces of full square 156 mm × 156 mm solar cells with a passivated emitter and rear local contacts (PERC) were fabricated with an average efficiency of 20.6% by in-house measurement. The module includes half-cells for low interconnection losses, as well as a novel light-trapping scheme including light capture ribbon connected to the cells and a structured light reflective film between cells combined with an optimized large cell gap. The module using 60 pieces of the 20.6% efficient PERC solar cells has achieved a new world record, with a peak power output of 335.2 Wp in September2014, demonstrating a large cell-to-module factor, which is defined as P <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">mmp</sub> of module divided by the sum of cell Pmmp. The CTM factor of the champion module is greater than 1.11.

Effects of dopants on the growth of oxidation-induced stacking faults in heavily doped n-type Czochralaki silicon

Through comparative investigation on the growth of oxidation-induced stacking faults (OSFs) in heavily antimony (Sb)-doped and phosphorus (P)-doped Czochralaki (Cz) silicon wafers with almost the same resistivity, effects of dopants on the growth of OSF in heavily doped n-type Cz silicon are studied experimentally. Moreover, the influences of Sb and P atoms on the recombination of self-interstitials and vacancies are also explored on the basis of the first-principles calculations. It is shown experimentally that all the OSF lengths are almost identical regardless of the type and density of OSF nucleation centers, such as copper precipitates and mechanical scratches etc.. However, it is found that the OSF length of heavily Sb-doped Cz silicon wafer is larger than that of heavily P-doped Cz silicon wafer under the same oxidation condition. Essentially, the OSFs are formed by the aggregation of silicon self-interstitials refleased at the Si/SiO2interface during the oxidation. Therefore, a longer OSF implies that a higher quantity of silicon self-interstitials remains after the recombination of vacancies and silicon self-interstitials in the heavily Sb-doped Cz silicon wafer. The first-principles calculations based on density functional theory (DFT) indicate that Sb atoms combine with vacancies more readily than P atoms. This is actually due to the fact that Sb has a much larger atomic size than P. In other words, as compared with P atoms, the Sb atoms are the moreflefficient vacancy-trapping centers, thus retarding the recombination of vacancies and silicon self-interstitials. Consequently, the silicon self-interstitials remain after recombination with the vacancies that are much more in heavily Sb-doped Cz silicon wafer than in heavily P-doped counterpart when undergoing the same oxidation. In turn, the OSFs in heavily Sb-doped silicon wafers are relatively longer.

Optimization of a silicon wafer texturing process by modifying the texturing temperature for heterojunction solar cell applications

A simple and effective method using a two-step texturing temperature control is proposed to optimize the texturing process of commercial Cz-silicon wafers.

Improved amorphous/crystalline silicon interface passivation for heterojunction solar cells by low-temperature chemical vapor deposition and post-annealing treatment

In this study, hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) thin films are deposited using a radio-frequency plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (RF-PECVD) system. The Si-H configuration of the a-Si:H/c-Si interface is regulated by optimizing the deposition temperature and post-annealing duration to improve the minority carrier lifetime (τeff) of a commercial Czochralski (Cz) silicon wafer. The mechanism of this improvement involves saturation of the microstructural defects with hydrogen evolved within the a-Si:H films due to the transformation from SiH2 into SiH during the annealing process. The post-annealing temperature is controlled to ∼180 °C so that silicon heterojunction solar cells (SHJ) could be prepared without an additional annealing step. To achieve better performance of the SHJ solar cells, we also optimize the thickness of the a-Si:H passivation layer. Finally, complete SHJ solar cells are fabricated using different temperatures for the a-Si:H film deposition to study the influence of the deposition temperature on the solar cell parameters. For the optimized a-Si:H deposition conditions, an efficiency of 18.41% is achieved on a textured Cz silicon wafer.