Contact Doping Research Articles

InGaAs axial-junction nanowire-array solar cells

Axial p–i–n junction nanowire (NW) solar cells (SCs) with a position-controlled GaAs-based NW array were fabricated by selective-area metal organic vapor phase epitaxy (SA-MOVPE). The measured electron-beam-induced current (EBIC) signals showed the formation of an axial p–i–n junction, which confirms power generation under sunlight illumination. The series resistance of the NW SCs is much higher than that of conventional planar SCs based on Si or other III–V compound semiconductors. The main difficulty concerning the fabrication of these NW SCs is the degradation of series resistance between the GaAs-based NWs and the indium–tin oxide (ITO) deposited as a transparent electrode. The series resistance of the fabricated GaAs-based NW SCs was reduced by introducing a tin doping contact layer between the ITO and the NW array, which is formed by pulse doping. As a result of this improved structure, the fabricated SCs exhibited an open-circuit voltage of 0.544 V, a short-circuit current of 18.2 mA/cm2, and a fill factor of 0.721 for an overall conversion efficiency of 7.14% under AM1.5G illumination. The series resistance of the SCs could be decreased to 0.132 Ω·cm2, which is one order of magnitude lower than that of the SC without a highly doped contact layer. This reduced series resistance indicates that nanostructure SCs with transparent electrodes and multijunction NW SCs with high efficiencies can be fabricated on a commercial basis in the near future.

Continuous electrowetting at the low concentration electrolyte-insulator-semiconductor junction

Electrowetting (EW) has applications including displays, microactuation, miniaturized chemistry, adaptive optics, and energy harvesting—understanding the physics of EW junctions is of key importance. Here, the roles of semiconductor space-charge and electric double layer in continuous EW at an electrolyte-insulator-semiconductor junction are considered. A model is formulated in terms of experimental parameters—applied voltage, zero-bias wetting contact angle, semiconductor type and doping, insulator thickness and dielectric constant, and electrolyte concentration and dielectric constant. The model predicts, and experiments indicate, that the EW behavior is diminished for low concentration solutions (∼1–10 nM) and lowly doped silicon (1014–1015 cm−3).

Controllable doping and wrap-around contacts to electrolessly etched silicon nanowire arrays

Top-down electroless chemical etching enables non-lithographic patterning of wafer-scale nanostructured arrays, but the etching on highly doped wafers produces porous structures. The lack of defect-free nanostructures at desired doping and the difficulties in forming reliable electrical side-contacts to the nanostructure arrays limits their integration into high performance nanoelectronics. We developed a barrier layer diffusion technique to controllably dope wafer-scale silicon nanowire arrays (1017–1020 cm−3) produced by chemically etching lightly doped silicon wafers. In order to achieve low resistance top-side electrical contacts to the arrays, we developed a two step tip-doping procedure to locally dope the tips (∼1020 cm−3) to metallic levels. The dopant concentration is characterized by depth profiling using secondary ion mass spectroscopy and four-point probe electrical measurements. Further, array scale electrical measurements show that the tip-doping lowers the specific contact resistivity (∼10−5 Ω cm2) since the metallic tips enable direct tunneling of electrons across the nickel silicide contacts to the nanowire arrays. This work provides a scalable and cost-effective doping approach to control charge injection and charge conduction in nanowire arrays, thus advancing their integration into various device applications.

Contact Doping with Sub‐Monolayers of Strong Polyelectrolytes for Organic Photovoltaics

Barriers to charge transfer at electrode‐semiconductor contacts are ubiquitous and limit the applicability of organic semiconductors in electronic devices. Molecular or ionic doping near contacts can alleviate charge injection or extraction problems by enabling charge tunneling through contact barriers, but the soft nature of organic materials allows for small molecule dopants to diffuse and migrate, degrading the performance of the device and limiting effective interfacial doping. Here, it is demonstrated that contact doping in organic electronics is possible through ionic polymer dopants, which resist diffusion or migration due to their large size. Sub‐monolayer deposition of non‐conjugated strong polyelectrolytes, e.g., sulfonated poly(sulfone)s, at the anode‐semiconductor interface of organic photovoltaics enables efficient hole extraction at the anode. The performance of contact‐doped organic photo­voltaics nearly matches the performance of devices composed of traditional hole transport layers such as poly(3,4‐ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS). The degree of sulfonation of the dopant polymer and the thickness of the ionic dopant layer is shown to be critical for optimizing doping and the efficiency of the device.

Investigation of the Mechanism Resulting in low Resistance Ag Thick-Film Contact to Si Solar Cells in the Context of Emitter Doping Density and Contact Firing for Current-Generation Ag Paste

Screen-printed thick-film Ag metallization has become highly successful in crystalline Si (c-Si) photovoltaics. However, a complete understanding of the mechanism resulting in low resistance contact is still lacking. In order to shed light on this mechanism for current-generation Ag paste, Si solar cells were fabricated using a range of emitter doping densities and contact firing conditions. Low resistance contact was found to vary as a function of emitter surface P concentration ( [P <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">surface</sub> ]) and peak firing temperature. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) analysis revealed thin interfacial glass films (IGF) under the bulk Ag gridline. SEM analysis also showed increasing Ag crystallite density as both emitter [P <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">surface</sub> ] and peak firing temperature increased. Two mechanisms are proposed in forming low resistance contact to highly doped emitters: 1) formation of ultrathin IGF and/or nano-Ag colloids at low firing temperature, and 2) formation of Ag crystallites at high firing temperature. However, on lightly doped emitters, low resistance contact was achieved only at higher firing temperatures, concomitant with increasing Ag crystallite density, and suggests that thin IGF decorated with nano-Ag colloids may not be sufficient for low resistance contact to lightly doped emitters.

Optimization of Laser Processes for Local Rear Contacting of Passivated Silicon Solar Cells

Laser Firing Contact (LFC) and Laser Doping (LD) have become potential alternatives to the Al BSF thermal processing conventionally used in p-type c-Si solar cell rear contacts. Optimized LFC and LD processes allow, not only the generation of efficient micro-contacts, but also the diffusion of p-type doping impurities reducing the surface recombination velocity due to the formation of a local back surface field (BSF). In this work, three different laser strategies to create ohmic micro-contacts are studied: 1) evaporated Aluminum LFC, 2) Aluminum foil LFC and 3) Aluminum oxide (Al2O3) LD. The laser source used was a pulsed Nd-YAG 1064nm laser working in the nanosecond regime. Laser parameters were explored to optimize the electrical behavior of the contacts and their carrier recombination rate. Optimized laser parameters lead to specific contact resistance in the 1.0 - 1.3 mΩ·cm2 range for all three strategies. From the point of view of carrier recombination, better results were obtained for Al2O3 LD, probably related to the lower energy pulse needed to create the contact. Next, the three proposed laser approaches were applied to the back surface of heterojunction silicon solar cells. Contact quality was not limiting any cell performance indicating that the contact quality is good enough to be applied in high-efficiency c-Si cell concepts. On the other hand, surface recombination velocity at the rear surface on the final devices also points out to Al2O3 LD as the best alternative.

Scaling limits of organic digital circuits

The effect of device scaling on organic circuits’ performance was studied. Particularly, the influence of contact resistance on the static and the dynamic behavior of the circuits was investigated. For that purpose, an analytical model describing the voltage transfer characteristics (VTCs) and the propagation delay was developed. Using the model, it was shown that for OTFTs with channel lengths of less than 10μm the contact resistance has negative influence on both, the static noise margin (SNM) and the propagation delay. Moreover, the model is in a good agreement with experimentally measured data. Scaling the lateral dimensions of the transistors down to few μm limits the circuit performance due to contact effects, and the 1–10MHz frequency range operation required by some applications can only be achieved by reducing the specific contact resistance, ρc, 10–100 times. This need for ρc reduction highlights the importance of improving charge injection in organic transistors that can usually be achieved by contact doping like in inorganic electronics.

Monolayer Contact Doping of Silicon Surfaces and Nanowires Using Organophosphorus Compounds

Monolayer Contact Doping (MLCD) is a simple method for doping of surfaces and nanostructures(1). MLCD results in the formation of highly controlled, ultra shallow and sharp doping profiles at the nanometer scale. In MLCD process the dopant source is a monolayer containing dopant atoms. In this article a detailed procedure for surface doping of silicon substrate as well as silicon nanowires is demonstrated. Phosphorus dopant source was formed using tetraethyl methylenediphosphonate monolayer on a silicon substrate. This monolayer containing substrate was brought to contact with a pristine intrinsic silicon target substrate and annealed while in contact. Sheet resistance of the target substrate was measured using 4 point probe. Intrinsic silicon nanowires were synthesized by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) process using a vapor-liquid-solid (VLS) mechanism; gold nanoparticles were used as catalyst for nanowire growth. The nanowires were suspended in ethanol by mild sonication. This suspension was used to dropcast the nanowires on silicon substrate with a silicon nitride dielectric top layer. These nanowires were doped with phosphorus in similar manner as used for the intrinsic silicon wafer. Standard photolithography process was used to fabricate metal electrodes for the formation of nanowire based field effect transistor (NW-FET). The electrical properties of a representative nanowire device were measured by a semiconductor device analyzer and a probe station.

Monolayer Contact Doping of Silicon Surfaces and Nanowires Using Organophosphorus Compounds

Monolayer Contact Doping of Silicon Surfaces and Nanowires Using Organophosphorus Compounds

A Rigorous Model for Through-Silicon Vias With Ohmic Contact in Silicon Interposer

High-density through-silicon via (TSV) interconnects in silicon interposer require effective crosstalk-reduction signaling schemes and rigorous crosstalk modeling techniques. In this letter, we propose a rigorous model for grounded TSVs with ohmic contact. The proposed model takes into account contact resistance, doping density, and doping-region capacitance for the metal-silicon interface of grounded TSVs. The comparison between modeling results and full-wave simulations validates the accuracy of the proposed model for signal-ground-signal vias.

Reduction of contact resistance by selective contact doping in fullerene n-channel organic field-effect transistors

We have investigated the contact-doping effect on high performance n-channel C60 organic field-effect transistors (OFETs) using the air-stable rhodocene dimer as an n-type dopant. The average charge mobility improved from a value of 0.48 cm2/(Vs) in a reference device to 1.65 cm2/(Vs) for contact-doped devices with a channel length of 25 μm. The operational stability of contact-doped OFETs under continuous stress bias was found similar to the reference devices.

III–V nanowire photovoltaics: Review of design for high efficiency

Abstractmagnified imageThis article reviews recent developments in nanowire‐based photovoltaics (PV) with an emphasis on III–V semiconductors including growth mechanisms, device fabrication and performance results. We first review the available nanowire growth methods followed by control of nanowire growth direction and crystal structure. Important device issues are reviewed, including optical absorption, carrier collection, strain accommodation, design for high efficiency, tunnel junctions, Ohmic contact formation, passivation and doping. Performance data of III–V nanowire cells and the primary challenges in nanowire PV are summarized. Many of the issues discussed here are also applicable to other nanowire devices such as photodetectors. (© 2013 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH &amp; Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

High performance of pentacene organic thin film transistors by doping of iodine on source/drain regions

Contact doping was conducted by iodine in a top contact configuration in a pentacene organic thin film transistor (OTFT), to investigate its effects on contact resistance and the resulting electrical performance. Iodine doping in the pentacene film caused the change of pentacene structure, thus leading to an increase in electrical anisotropy, i.e. ratio of lateral to vertical resistivity. The two resistive components of doped pentacene film underneath the Au contacts were major contributors to the contact resistance, and a model to explain the dependence of contact resistance on iodine doping was presented. Finally, OTFTs fabricated on iodine doped source/drain contacts exhibited high mobility of 1.078cm2/Vs, two times that of OTFTs with undoped contacts, due to the low contact resistance.

A Parametric Study of InGaN/GaN Nanorod Core-Shell LEDs

In this paper, we present simulation results on the optical and transport properties of InGaN/GaN core-shell nanorod light-emitting diodes. The influence of contact position, surface recombination, and doping configuration on internal quantum efficiency is examined. The qualitative behavior when adding an electron blocking layer and the dependence on In content have been studied.

Получение двухсторонних высоковольтных эпитак­сиальных кремниевых p—i—n-структур методом ЖФЭ

Silicon p—i—n-structures are usually obtained using conventional diffusion method or liquid phase epitaxy (LPE). In both cases, the formation of p- and n-layers occurs in two stages. This technological approach is quite complex. Moreover, when forming bilateral high-voltage epitaxial layers, their parameters significantly deteriorate as a result of prolonged heat treatment of active high-resistivity layer. Besides, when using diffusion method, it is impossible to provide good reproducibility of the process. In this paper a technique of growing bilateral high-voltage silicon p—i—n-structures by LPE in a single process is proposed. The authors have obtained the optimum compounds of silicon-undersaturated molten solutions for highly doped (5•1018 cm–3) contact layers: 0.4—0.8 at. % aluminum in gallium melt for growing p-Si-layers and 0.03—0.15 at. % ytterbium in tin melt for n-Si-layers. Parameters of such structures provide for manufacturing of high-voltage diodes on their basis. Such diodes can be used in navigational equipment, communication systems for household and special purposes, on-board power supply systems, radar systems, medical equipment, etc.

Improving the ohmic properties of contacts to P–GaN by adding p–type dopants into the metallization layer

The work investigates an increase of the density of free charge carriers in the sub-surface region of p-GaN by adding p-type dopants into the Ni-O layer of an Au/Ni-O metallization structure. We have examined electrical properties and concentration depth profiles of contact structures Au/Ni-Mg-O/p-GaN and Au/Ni-Zn-O/p-GaN, thus with magnesium and zinc as p-type dopants. The metallization layers were deposited on p-GaN by DC reactive magnetron sputtering in an atmosphere with a low concentration of oxygen (0.2 at%). The contacts were annealed in N2 . We have found that the structures containing magnesium or zinc exhibit lower values of contact resistivity in comparison with otherwise identical contacts without Mg or Zn dopants. In our opinion, the lower values of contact resistivity of the structures containing of Mg or Zn are caused by an increased density of holes in the sub-surface region of p-GaN due to diffusion of Mg or Zn from the deposited doped contact layers.

Contact Doping of Silicon Wafers and Nanostructures with Phosphine Oxide Monolayers

Contact doping method for the controlled surface doping of silicon wafers and nanometer scale structures is presented. The method, monolayer contact doping (MLCD), utilizes the formation of a dopant-containing monolayer on a donor substrate that is brought to contact and annealed with the interface or structure intended for doping. A unique feature of the MLCD method is that the monolayer used for doping is formed on a separate substrate (termed donor substrate), which is distinct from the interface intended for doping (termed acceptor substrate). The doping process is controlled by anneal conditions, details of the interface, and molecular precursor used for the formation of the dopant-containing monolayer. The MLCD process does not involve formation and removal of SiO(2) capping layer, allowing utilization of surface chemistry details for tuning and simplifying the doping process. Surface contact doping of intrinsic Si wafers (i-Si) and intrinsic silicon nanowires (i-SiNWs) is demonstrated and characterized. Nanowire devices were formed using the i-SiNW channel and contact doped using the MLCD process, yielding highly doped SiNWs. Kelvin probe force microscopy (KPFM) was used to measure the longitudinal dopant distribution of the SiNWs and demonstrated highly uniform distribution in comparison with in situ doped wires. The MLCD process was studied for i-Si substrates with native oxide and H-terminated surface for three types of phosphorus-containing molecules. Sheet resistance measurements reveal the dependency of the doping process on the details of the surface chemistry used and relation to the different chemical environments of the P═O group. Characterization of the thermal decomposition of several monolayer types formed on SiO(2) nanoparticles (NPs) using TGA and XPS provides insight regarding the role of phosphorus surface chemistry at the SiO(2) interface in the overall MLCD process. The new MLCD process presented here for controlled surface doping provides a simple yet highly versatile means for achieving postgrowth doping of nanometer scale structures and interfaces.

Enhanced low-noise gain from InAs avalanche photodiodes with reduced dark current and background doping

We reduced the room temperature dark current in an InAs avalanche photodiode by increasing the p-type contact doping, resulting in an increased energetic barrier to minority electron injection into the p-region, which is a significant source of dark current at room temperature. In addition, by improving the molecular beam epitaxy growth conditions, we reduced the background doping concentration and realized depletion widths as wide as 5 μm at reverse biases as low as 1.5 V. These improvements culminated in low-noise InAs avalanche photodiodes exhibiting a room temperature multiplication gain of ∼80, at a record low reverse bias of 12 V.

Heavy p-type doping of ZnSe thin films using Cu2Se in pulsed laser deposition

Undoped, Cu-doped, Se-enriched, and Cu2Se-doped ZnSe films have been grown on fused quartz substrates by pulsed laser deposition. While the other films are highly resistive, Cu2Se-doped ZnSe films are p-type conducting with hole concentrations of ∼1.1 × 1019 cm−3 and resistivities of ∼0.098 Ω cm (compared with previous reports of ∼1×1018 cm−3 and ∼0.75 Ω cm). The exceptional heavy p-type doping of ZnSe films can be attributed to substitution of Zn atoms with Cu while limiting selenium-vacancy-associated compensating defects with additional selenium. This work is of importance to solve doping difficulties and contact problems of wide-bandgap semiconductors.

Influence of contact doping on graphene nanoribbon heterojunction tunneling field effect transistors

We investigated the device performance of graphene nanoribbon tunneling field-effect transistors with heterogeneous channel as a function of the contact doping concentrations. The simulations were carried out based on the non-equilibrium Green’s function, coupled with a Dirac Hamiltonian model, and the roles of symmetric and asymmetric contact doping concentrations on the device performance were identified. It was observed that the device performances such as OFF-state currents (IOFF), ON-state currents (ION) and subthreshold slopes (SSs) were greatly influenced by the source doping concentrations, while variations in drain doping concentrations changed mainly the IOFF. By applying proper asymmetric source and drain doping concentrations, low SS and large ION/IOFF ratio can be achieved, indicating that it is an alternative route to effectively enhance the device performance.