Hydrogen Concentration in Photovoltaic a-Si:H Annealed at Different Temperatures Measured by Neutron Reflectometry

Abstract: Amorphous hydrogenated silicon (a-Si:H) is an important material for surface defect passivation of photovoltaic silicon (Si) wafers in order to reduce their recombination losses. The material is however unstable with regards to hydrogen (H) desorption at elevated temperatures, which can be an issue during processing and device manufacturing. In this work we determine the temperature stability of a-Si:H by structural characterization of a-Si:H/Si bilayers with neutron- (NR) and X-ray reflectometry (XRR) combined with photoconductance measurements yielding the minority carrer lifetime. The neutrons are sensitive to light elements such as H, while the X-rays which are insensitive to the H-concentration, provide an independent constraint on the layer structure. It is shown that H-desorption takes place at a temperature of approximately T = $425\,^{\circ}\mathrm{C}$ and that hydrogen content and minority carrier lifetimes have a strongly correlated linear relationship, which can be interpreted as one hydrogen atom passivating one defect.