Details
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | 9408946 |
| Pages (from-to) | 866 - 872 |
| Number of pages | 7 |
| Journal | IEEE journal of photovoltaics |
| Volume | 11 |
| Issue number | 4 |
| Publication status | Published - 20 Apr 2021 |
Abstract
In this article, carrier lifetime degradation phenomena on fired gallium-doped Czochralski-grown silicon (Cz-Si:Ga) and boron-doped float-zone silicon (FZ-Si:B) are observed. We examine lifetime degradation and regeneration as a function of illumination intensity and temperature and observe qualitatively similar degradation effects in both material classes, which are triggered by a fast-firing high-temperature step. Charge carrier injection, e.g., through illumination, is required to activate the defects responsible for degradation. The extent of degradation increases with increasing temperature, which is untypical for degradation effects reported before. Despite different degradation time constants are measured for Cz-Si:Ga and FZ-Si:B, the activation energies are for both materials in the narrow range $({0.58 \pm 0.04}){\boldsymbol{\ }}{{\bf eV}}$. The extracted activation energy is quite different compared with other degradation effects in silicon, suggesting a novel defect formation mechanism. Since the lifetime degradation is triggered by the fast-firing of the silicon wafers during the presence of a hydrogen-rich dielectric at the surface, the involvement of hydrogen in the defect reaction is very likely. During prolonged illumination at elevated temperature (135 °C), we observe a permanent regeneration of the lifetime, whereas at temperatures close to room temperature (36 °C), the defect deactivation is only temporary.
Keywords
- Carrier lifetime, Light-Induced Degradation (LID), degradation, gallium, regeneration, silicon (Si)
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Materials Science(all)
- Electronic, Optical and Magnetic Materials
- Physics and Astronomy(all)
- Condensed Matter Physics
- Engineering(all)
- Electrical and Electronic Engineering
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In: IEEE journal of photovoltaics, Vol. 11, No. 4, 9408946, 20.04.2021, p. 866 - 872.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer review
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Carrier Lifetime Degradation and Regeneration in Gallium- and Boron-Doped Monocrystalline Silicon Materials
AU - Winter, Michael
AU - Walter, Dominic
AU - Schmidt, Jan
N1 - Funding Information: Manuscript received January 26, 2021; revised March 12, 2021; accepted March 30, 2021. Date of publication April 20, 2021; date of current version June 21, 2021. This work was supported in part by the German State of Lower Saxony and in part by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy within the research project LIMES (contract 0324204D) (Corresponding author: Michael Winter.) Michael Winter and Jan Schmidt are with the Institute for Solar Energy Research Hamelin/Emmerthal (ISFH), 31860 Emmerthal, Germany, and also with the Institute of Solid-State Physics, Leibniz University Hannover, 30167 Hannover, Germany (e-mail: m.winter@isfh.de; j.schmidt@isfh.de).
PY - 2021/4/20
Y1 - 2021/4/20
N2 - In this article, carrier lifetime degradation phenomena on fired gallium-doped Czochralski-grown silicon (Cz-Si:Ga) and boron-doped float-zone silicon (FZ-Si:B) are observed. We examine lifetime degradation and regeneration as a function of illumination intensity and temperature and observe qualitatively similar degradation effects in both material classes, which are triggered by a fast-firing high-temperature step. Charge carrier injection, e.g., through illumination, is required to activate the defects responsible for degradation. The extent of degradation increases with increasing temperature, which is untypical for degradation effects reported before. Despite different degradation time constants are measured for Cz-Si:Ga and FZ-Si:B, the activation energies are for both materials in the narrow range $({0.58 \pm 0.04}){\boldsymbol{\ }}{{\bf eV}}$. The extracted activation energy is quite different compared with other degradation effects in silicon, suggesting a novel defect formation mechanism. Since the lifetime degradation is triggered by the fast-firing of the silicon wafers during the presence of a hydrogen-rich dielectric at the surface, the involvement of hydrogen in the defect reaction is very likely. During prolonged illumination at elevated temperature (135 °C), we observe a permanent regeneration of the lifetime, whereas at temperatures close to room temperature (36 °C), the defect deactivation is only temporary.
AB - In this article, carrier lifetime degradation phenomena on fired gallium-doped Czochralski-grown silicon (Cz-Si:Ga) and boron-doped float-zone silicon (FZ-Si:B) are observed. We examine lifetime degradation and regeneration as a function of illumination intensity and temperature and observe qualitatively similar degradation effects in both material classes, which are triggered by a fast-firing high-temperature step. Charge carrier injection, e.g., through illumination, is required to activate the defects responsible for degradation. The extent of degradation increases with increasing temperature, which is untypical for degradation effects reported before. Despite different degradation time constants are measured for Cz-Si:Ga and FZ-Si:B, the activation energies are for both materials in the narrow range $({0.58 \pm 0.04}){\boldsymbol{\ }}{{\bf eV}}$. The extracted activation energy is quite different compared with other degradation effects in silicon, suggesting a novel defect formation mechanism. Since the lifetime degradation is triggered by the fast-firing of the silicon wafers during the presence of a hydrogen-rich dielectric at the surface, the involvement of hydrogen in the defect reaction is very likely. During prolonged illumination at elevated temperature (135 °C), we observe a permanent regeneration of the lifetime, whereas at temperatures close to room temperature (36 °C), the defect deactivation is only temporary.
KW - Carrier lifetime
KW - Light-Induced Degradation (LID)
KW - degradation
KW - gallium
KW - regeneration
KW - silicon (Si)
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85104661546&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1109/JPHOTOV.2021.3070474
DO - 10.1109/JPHOTOV.2021.3070474
M3 - Article
VL - 11
SP - 866
EP - 872
JO - IEEE journal of photovoltaics
JF - IEEE journal of photovoltaics
SN - 2156-3381
IS - 4
M1 - 9408946
ER -