KEYWORDS: Silicon, Transmission electron microscopy, Glasses, Thin films, Crystals, Photovoltaics, Scanning electron microscopy, Solar cells, Silicon films, Thin film solar cells
The material-quality limiting factors of evaporated solid-phase crystallized (SPC) poly-Si thin films fabricated on
planar glass for photovoltaic applications are investigated by a study combining scanning electron microscopy and
transmission electron microscopy. The grains in the investigated thin films are found to be randomly oriented, with an
average grain size of ~2.1 μm. In general, the grains are found to have a high defect density, although some grains are
more defective than others. We also observe a high level of impurity incorporation, in particular, oxygen, into the film.
The optical activity of the Si films is dominated by deep band tail states. We conclude that the high intragrain defect
densities and the high impurity levels are two major limiting factors for obtaining high-quality evaporated SPC poly-Si
thin films for photovoltaics.
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