A review on epitaxial lift-off for III-V solar cells

IF 2 4区材料科学 Q3 MATERIALS SCIENCE, COATINGS & FILMS

Thin Solid Films Pub Date : 2024-11-15 DOI:10.1016/j.tsf.2024.140570

Daan van der Woude , Lara Barros Rebouças , Elias Vlieg , Joost Smits , John Schermer

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Abstract

Epitaxial lift-off (ELO) as a step in the fabrication of III-V devices offers a significant cost-reduction by non-destructive removal of the growth substrate, which can subsequently be reused. Specifically in solar cell production, ELO facilitates the creation of thin-film configurations that surpass the performance of substrate-based cells. This process involves a selective lateral etch of a sacrificial layer, typically a high-aluminum content AlGaAs layer, with hydrofluoric acid (HF). In the reaction, various aluminum-fluoride compounds, arsenic gas, fluoride ions, and water are formed. However, challenges arise in ensuring unhampered etching due to geometric constraints and side reactions leading to solid material deposits, including aluminum ions, hydrogen gas, and solid arsenic. This review provides an overview of all major aspects involving the theoretical understanding and practical application of epitaxial lift-off. An analysis is presented of various studies of the process parameters that influence the sacrificial layer etch rate under various experimental conditions. This includes factors such as the release layer's aluminum fraction, thickness, and doping concentrations, as well as experimental conditions, such as HF concentration and temperature. The influence of stress and strain on the ELO process, and the challenge to study this comprehensively, is also addressed. This work is concluded with remarks regarding substrate reuse and the challenges and opportunities for ELO, such as thin-film fragility, alternative release layers and multi-release ELO.

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III-V 太阳能电池外延升离综述

外延剥离（ELO）是制造三-五代器件的一个步骤，通过非破坏性地移除生长基底，可显著降低成本。特别是在太阳能电池生产中，ELO 可促进薄膜结构的形成，使其性能超过基于衬底的电池。这一工艺包括用氢氟酸（HF）对牺牲层（通常是高铝含量的 AlGaAs 层）进行选择性横向蚀刻。在反应过程中，会形成各种氟化铝化合物、砷气体、氟离子和水。然而，由于几何限制和副反应导致的固体材料沉积（包括铝离子、氢气和固体砷），在确保蚀刻无障碍方面存在挑战。本综述概述了涉及外延升离的理论理解和实际应用的所有主要方面。文中分析了在各种实验条件下影响牺牲层蚀刻速率的各种工艺参数研究。这包括释放层的铝比例、厚度和掺杂浓度等因素，以及氢氟酸浓度和温度等实验条件。此外，还讨论了应力和应变对 ELO 过程的影响，以及全面研究这一问题所面临的挑战。最后，就基底再利用以及 ELO 面临的挑战和机遇（如薄膜脆性、替代释放层和多重释放 ELO）发表了评论。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Thin Solid Films 工程技术-材料科学：膜

CiteScore

4.00

自引率

4.80%

发文量

381

审稿时长

7.5 months

期刊介绍： Thin Solid Films is an international journal which serves scientists and engineers working in the fields of thin-film synthesis, characterization, and applications. The field of thin films, which can be defined as the confluence of materials science, surface science, and applied physics, has become an identifiable unified discipline of scientific endeavor.