Enhanced field-assisted passivation and optical properties improvement of PECVD deposited SiNx:H thin film

IF 3.8 3区材料科学 Q2 MATERIALS SCIENCE, MULTIDISCIPLINARY

Optical Materials Pub Date : 2025-03-03 DOI:10.1016/j.optmat.2025.116885

Alamgeer , Hasnain Yousuf , Muhammad Quddamah Khokhar , Rafi ur Rahman , Chu Mengmeng , Maha Nur Aida , Polgampola Chamani Madara , Jaljalalul Abedin Jony , Seokjin Jang , Junhan Bae , Shurouq Abdulqadir Mohammed , Sangheon Park , Junsin Yi

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

This article investigates field-assisted passivation in hydrogenated silicon nitride (SiN_x:H) with reduced absorption loss by utilizing two different purities of saline (SiH₄) gas and their deposition conditions using plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD). The impact of varying NH₃:SiH₄ flow rate using SiH₄ (gas 2) is better and more reliable than SiH₄ (gas 1) in terms of the refractive index (R.I), deposition conditions and lifetime. A gas ratio (GR) of 1.3 results in an optimal R.I of 2.06, thickness of 73.62 nm, and a deposition rate of 0.98 nm/s, achieving the highest optical transmittance of 93.33 % at 300 °C, with an improved lifetime of 473.45 μs calculated for SiH₄ gas 2 as compared to gas 1. The bandgap of GR 1.3 is calculated as 3.28 eV using Tauc plot since this condition is best for single-layer antireflection coating (SLAR). Capaciatance-Voltage (CV) measurements were carried out for different flow rates of gas 2 at 10 kHz and 1 MHz to carry out defect interface density (D_it). However, the D_it effect varies with flow rates as 2.35 × 10¹² to 3.925 × 10¹³ cm²/eV. Fixed charge density (Q_f) varies as we go up to nitrogen-rich content and reaches up to 6.6 × 10¹² (cm⁻²). These results indicate the importance of precise control over gas conditions to optimize SiN_x:H films for advanced photovoltaics applications.

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来源期刊

Optical Materials 工程技术-材料科学：综合

CiteScore

6.60

自引率

12.80%

发文量

1265

审稿时长

38 days

期刊介绍： Optical Materials has an open access mirror journal Optical Materials: X, sharing the same aims and scope, editorial team, submission system and rigorous peer review. The purpose of Optical Materials is to provide a means of communication and technology transfer between researchers who are interested in materials for potential device applications. The journal publishes original papers and review articles on the design, synthesis, characterisation and applications of optical materials. OPTICAL MATERIALS focuses on: • Optical Properties of Material Systems; • The Materials Aspects of Optical Phenomena; • The Materials Aspects of Devices and Applications. Authors can submit separate research elements describing their data to Data in Brief and methods to Methods X.