Impact of plasma-induced damage on electrical and physical properties of indium tin oxide as interconnecting layers of tandem solar cell applications

IF 3.9 2区材料科学 Q2 MATERIALS SCIENCE, MULTIDISCIPLINARY

Vacuum Pub Date : 2025-08-27 DOI:10.1016/j.vacuum.2025.114699

Chia-Huai Ho , Chin-Lung Cheng , Yung-Teng Wang

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Abstract

The influence of pre-sputtering the target, sputtering power, and working pressure on the overall functional properties of indium tin oxide (ITO) films was studied. An optimized process involving a pre-sputtering treatment of the target at 5 mTorr with 20 W power for 45 min, followed by deposition of an 80 nm ITO film at 160 W and 3 mTorr, resulted in a low resistivity of 2.58 × 10⁻⁴ Ω cm and a high carrier mobility of 21 cm²/V·s. When applied as an interconnecting layer on a screen-printed monocrystalline silicon solar cell (SMSSC) with an initial efficiency of 18.8 %, the ITO layer caused a 0.8 % reduction in conversion efficiency (CE). Raman spectroscopy revealed that plasma-induced damage (PID) led to a broadening of Raman peaks, highlighting its impact on ITO stability. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analysis confirmed that the pre-sputtering treatment of the target effectively reduced defect-related signals, indicating improved film quality.

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等离子体损伤对串联太阳能电池互连层氧化铟锡电学和物理性能的影响

研究了预溅射靶、溅射功率和工作压力对氧化铟锡（ITO）薄膜整体功能性能的影响。优化后的工艺包括在5 mTorr和20 W功率下对目标进行预溅射处理45 min，然后在160 W和3 mTorr下沉积80 nm ITO薄膜，其电阻率为2.58 × 10−4 Ω cm，载流子迁移率为21 cm2/V·s。当ITO层作为互连层应用于初始效率为18.8%的丝网印刷单晶硅太阳能电池（SMSSC）时，导致转换效率（CE）降低0.8%。拉曼光谱显示，等离子体诱导损伤（PID）导致拉曼峰的展宽，突出了其对ITO稳定性的影响。x射线光电子能谱（XPS）分析证实，靶材的预溅射处理有效地降低了缺陷相关信号，表明薄膜质量得到改善。

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来源期刊

Vacuum 工程技术-材料科学：综合

CiteScore

6.80

自引率

17.50%

发文量

审稿时长

34 days

期刊介绍： Vacuum is an international rapid publications journal with a focus on short communication. All papers are peer-reviewed, with the review process for short communication geared towards very fast turnaround times. The journal also published full research papers, thematic issues and selected papers from leading conferences. A report in Vacuum should represent a major advance in an area that involves a controlled environment at pressures of one atmosphere or below. The scope of the journal includes: 1. Vacuum; original developments in vacuum pumping and instrumentation, vacuum measurement, vacuum gas dynamics, gas-surface interactions, surface treatment for UHV applications and low outgassing, vacuum melting, sintering, and vacuum metrology. Technology and solutions for large-scale facilities (e.g., particle accelerators and fusion devices). New instrumentation ( e.g., detectors and electron microscopes). 2. Plasma science; advances in PVD, CVD, plasma-assisted CVD, ion sources, deposition processes and analysis. 3. Surface science; surface engineering, surface chemistry, surface analysis, crystal growth, ion-surface interactions and etching, nanometer-scale processing, surface modification. 4. Materials science; novel functional or structural materials. Metals, ceramics, and polymers. Experiments, simulations, and modelling for understanding structure-property relationships. Thin films and coatings. Nanostructures and ion implantation.