We assess a broad range of published experiments to show that the density of states (DOS) at high-energy grain boundaries in silicon is appropriately described by the defect-pool model. This implies that the DOS of such grain boundaries depends strongly on the dopant density and on the position of the Fermi level during device processing. However, since high-energy grain boundaries consist of an amorphous layer that is confined to a width of a few angstroms, the DOS is “frozen in” after material processing and does not suffer the strong degradation effects commonly observed in bulk a-Si:H. By combining three-dimensional device modeling and the defect-pool model, we reproduce various test structures and polycrystalline thin-film Si solar cells considerably more precisely than in the past. Our simulation model potentially provides a link between processing conditions and grain boundary quality.
REFERENCES
1.
2.
3.
4.
M. M.
Mandurah
, K. C.
Saraswat
, and T. I.
Kamins
, J. Electrochem. Soc.
126
, 1019
(1979
).5.
M. E.
Roulet
, M.
Dutoit
, W.
Lüthy
, and K.
Affolter
, Appl. Phys. Lett.
37
, 737
(1980
).6.
Y.
Saito
, I.
Mizushima
, and H.
Kuwano
, J. Appl. Phys.
57
, 2010
(1985
).7.
H.
Schaber
, D.
Cutter
, J.
Binder
, and E.
Obermeier
, J. Appl. Phys.
54
, 4633
(1983
).8.
I.
Yamamoto
and H.
Kuwano
, Jpn. J. Appl. Phys., Part 2
31
, L1381
(1992
).9.
J. J.
Yang
, W. I.
Simpson
, H. M.
Manasevit
, and R. P.
Ruth
, J. Appl. Phys.
55
, 2995
(1984
).10.
N. C. C.
Lu
, L.
Gerzberg
, and J. D.
Meindl
, IEEE Electron Device Lett.
1
, 38
(1980
).11.
12.
G.
Baccarani
, B.
Riccò
, and G.
Spadini
, J. Appl. Phys.
49
, 5565
(1978
).13.
T.
Yoshihara
, A.
Yasuoka
, and H.
Abe
, J. Electrochem. Soc.
127
, 1603
(1980
).14.
15.
H. C.
de Graaff
, M.
Huybers
, and J. D.
de Groot
, Solid-State Electron.
25
, 67
(1982
).16.
17.
F.
Cleri
, P.
Keblinski
, L.
Colombo
, S. R.
Phillpot
, and D.
Wolf
, Phys. Rev. B
57
, 6247
(1998
).18.
19.
P.
Keblinski
, S. R.
Phillpot
, D.
Wolf
, and H.
Gleiter
, J. Am. Ceram. Soc.
80
, 717
(1997
).20.
21.
P. A.
Fedders
, D. A.
Drabold
, and S.
Klemm
, Phys. Rev. B
45
, 4048
(1992
).22.
S.
Hasegawa
, S.
Takenaka
, and Y.
Kurata
, J. Appl. Phys.
53
, 5022
(1982
).23.
W. B.
Jackson
, N. M.
Johnson
, and D. K.
Biegelsen
, Appl. Phys. Lett.
43
, 195
(1983
).24.
25.
J.
Kočka
, H.
Stuchlı́kowá
, J.
Stucklı́k
, B.
Rezek
, V.
Švrček
, P.
Fojtı́k
, I.
Pelant
, and A.
Feijfar
, Solid State Phenom.
80–81
, 213
(2001
).26.
R. B.
Wehrspohn
, M. J.
Powell
, S. C.
Deane
, I. D.
French
, and P.
Rocca i Cabarrocas
, Appl. Phys. Lett.
77
, 750
(2000
).27.
28.
29.
30.
T.
Shimizu
and M.
Kumeda
, Jpn. J. Appl. Phys., Part 2
35
, L816
(1996
).31.
32.
33.
M.
Peressi
, M.
Fornari
, S.
de Gironcoli
, L.
de Santis
, and A.
Baldereschi
, Philos. Mag. B
80
, 515
(2000
).34.
M.
Stutzmann
and D. K.
Biegelsen
, Phys. Rev. Lett.
60
, 1682
(1988
).35.
R.
Biswas
, C. Z.
Wang
, C. T.
Chan
, K. M.
Ho
, and C. M.
Soukoulis
, Phys. Rev. Lett.
63
, 1491
(1989
).36.
37.
38.
39.
40.
T.
Umeda
, S.
Yamasaki
, J.
Isoya
, and K.
Tanaka
, Phys. Rev. B
59
, 4849
(1999
).41.
42.
43.
44.
M. J.
Powell
, C.
van Berkel
, A. R.
Franklin
, S. C.
Deane
, and W. I.
Milne
, Phys. Rev. B
45
, 4160
(1992
).45.
46.
47.
V.
Nádazdy
, R.
Durný
, and E.
Pincik
, Phys. Rev. Lett.
78
, 1102
(1997
).48.
F.
Siebke
, H.
Stiebig
, and R.
Carius
, Sol. Energy Mater. Sol. Cells
49
, 7
(1997
).49.
50.
N. H.
Nickel
, W. B.
Jackson
, and N. M.
Johnson
, Phys. Rev. Lett.
71
, 2733
(1993
).51.
N. H.
Nickel
, N. M.
Johnson
, and C. G.
Van de Walle
, Phys. Rev. Lett.
72
, 3393
(1994
).52.
53.
54.
55.
56.
57.
58.
M.
Cao
, T.
King
, and K. C.
Araswat
, Appl. Phys. Lett.
61
, 672
(1992
).59.
G.
Fortunato
, D. B.
Meakin
, P.
Migliorato
, and P. G.
de Comber
, Philos. Mag. B
5
, 573
(1988
).60.
61.
62.
63.
G. C.
McGonigal
, D. J.
Thomson
, J. G.
Shaw
, and H. C.
Card
, Phys. Rev. B
28
, 5908
(1983
).64.
A. W.
De Groot
, G. C.
McGonigal
, D. J.
Thomson
, and H. C.
Card
, J. Appl. Phys.
55
, 312
(1984
).65.
A. J.
Madenach
and J.
Werner
, Phys. Rev. Lett.
55
, 1212
(1985
).66.
J.
Werner
, W.
Jantsch
, and H. J.
Queisser
, Solid State Commun.
42
, 415
(1982
).67.
C. H.
Seager
, G. E.
Pike
, and D. S.
Ginley
, Phys. Rev. Lett.
43
, 532
(1979
).68.
I.
Yamamoto
, H.
Kuwano
, and Y.
Saito
, J. Appl. Phys.
71
, 3350
(1992
).69.
70.
G. D. Watkins, The Lattice Vacancy in Silicon (Gordon and Breach Science, New York, 1986).
71.
M.
El Kajbaji
, J.
Thibault-Desseaux
, M.
Martinez-Hernandez
, A.
Jacques
, and A.
George
, Rev. Phys. Appl.
22
, 569
(1987
).72.
73.
74.
75.
A.
Garg
, W. A. T.
Clark
, and J. P.
Hirth
, Philos. Mag. A
59
, 1205
(1989
).76.
77.
S.
Christiansen
, P.
Lengsfeld
, J.
Krinke
, M.
Nerding
, and H. P.
Strunk
, J. Appl. Phys.
89
, 5348
(2001
).78.
79.
80.
W. E.
Taylor
, N. H.
Odell
, and H. Y.
Fan
, Phys. Rev.
88
, 867
(1952
).81.
82.
83.
S. Integrated Systems Engineering AG, Zurich, DESSIS Ver. 7.0, 2001.
84.
85.
86.
87.
88.
F.
Vaillant
, D.
Jousse
, and J. C.
Bruyere
, Philos. Mag. B
57
, 649
(1988
).89.
90.
91.
92.
93.
P. P.
Altermatt
, G.
Heiser
, A. G.
Aberle
, A.
Wang
, J.
Zhao
, S. J.
Robinson
, S.
Bowden
, and M. A.
Green
, Prog. Photovoltaics
4
, 399
(1996
).94.
P. P. Altermatt, J. O. Schumacher, A. Cuevas, S. W. Glunz, R. R. King, G. Heiser, and A. Schenk, Proceedings of the 16th European Community Solar Energy Conference, Glasgow, UK (James and James, London, 2000), pp. 102–105.
95.
96.
97.
T.
Gaillard
, H.
Lhermite
, O.
Bonnaud
, and R.
Rogel
, Solid State Phenom.
67–68
, 131
(1999
).98.
E.
Muñoz
, J. M.
Boix
, J.
Llabrés
, J. P.
Mónico
, and J.
Piqueras
, Solid-State Electron.
17
, 439
(1974
).99.
J. K.
Rath
, H.
Meiling
, and R. E. I.
Schropp
, Jpn. J. Appl. Phys., Part 1
36
, 5436
(1997
).100.
M. H.
Cohen
, M. Y.
Chou
, E. N.
Ecoonomou
, S.
Jahn
, and C. M.
Soukoulis
, IBM J. Res. Dev.
32
, 82
(1988
).101.
S.
John
, M. Y.
Chou
, M. H.
Cohen
, and C. M.
Soukoulis
, Phys. Rev. B
37
, 6963
(1988
).102.
103.
A. J. Madenach, J. Werner, and F. J. Stützler, Proceedings of the 18th IEEE Photovoltaic Specialists Conference, Las Vegas, NV (IEEE, New York, 1985), pp. 1088–1093.
104.
J. J.
Yang
, W. I.
Simpson
, and R. P.
Ruth
, J. Electron. Mater.
10
, 1011
(1981
).105.
106.
107.
H. C. Card, J. G. Shaw, and G. C. McGonigal, in Proceedings of the 16th IEEE Photovoltaic Specialists Conference (IEEE, New York, 1982), pp. 633–639.
108.
109.
110.
111.
112.
113.
G. H.
Blount
, R. H.
Bube
, and A. L.
Robinson
, J. Appl. Phys.
41
, 2190
(1970
).114.
115.
J. W.
Orton
, B. J.
Goldsmith
, M. J.
Powell
, and J. A.
Chapman
, Appl. Phys. Lett.
37
, 557
(1980
).116.
H. P.
Maruska
, A. K.
Ghosh
, A.
Rose
, and T.
Feng
, Appl. Phys. Lett.
36
, 381
(1980
).117.
A. K.
Ghosh
, A.
Rose
, H. P.
Maruska
, D. J.
Eustace
, and T.
Feng
, Appl. Phys. Lett.
37
, 544
(1980
).118.
119.
120.
R. A.
Street
, J.
Zesch
, and M. J.
Thompson
, Appl. Phys. Lett.
43
, 672
(1983
).121.
122.
123.
N.
Beck
, N.
Wyrsch
, C.
Hof
, and A.
Shah
, J. Appl. Phys.
79
, 9361
(1996
).124.
R. H.
Bube
, L. E.
Benatar
, and K. P.
Bube
, J. Appl. Phys.
79
, 1926
(1996
).125.
126.
127.
128.
129.
130.
D.
Vuillaume
, D.
Deresmes
, and D.
Stiévenard
, Appl. Phys. Lett.
64
, 1690
(1994
).131.
S.
Lee
, M.
Gunes
, C. R.
Wronski
, N.
Maley
, and M.
Bennett
, Appl. Phys. Lett.
59
, 1578
(1991
).132.
133.
D. E.
Heller
, M.
Gunes
, F.
Rubinelli
, R. M.
Dawson
, S.
Nag
, S. J.
Fonash
, and C. R.
Wronski
, in Amorphous Silicon Technology, edited by, M. J. Thompson, Y. Hamakawa, P. G. LeComber, A. Madan, and E. A. Schiff, Mater. Res. Soc. Symp. Proc.
258
, 1031
(1992
).134.
M.
Günes
, C. R.
Wronski
, and T. J.
McMahon
, J. Appl. Phys.
76
, 2260
(1994
).135.
136.
H.
Okushi
, T.
Takahama
, Y.
Tokumaru
, S.
Yamasaki
, H.
Oheda
, and K.
Tanaka
, Phys. Rev. B
27
, 5184
(1983
).137.
138.
W.
Füssel
, M.
Schmidt
, H.
Angermann
, G.
Mende
, and H.
Flietner
, Nucl. Instrum. Methods Phys. Res. A
377
, 177
(1996
).139.
J.
Albohn
, W.
Füssel
, N. D.
Sinh
, K.
Kliefoth
, and W.
Fuhs
, J. Appl. Phys.
88
, 842
(2000
).140.
141.
142.
143.
144.
145.
R. A. Sinton and A. Cuevas, in Ref. 94, pp. 1152–1155.
146.
147.
D.
Macdonald
, R. A.
Sinton
, and A.
Cuevas
, J. Appl. Phys.
89
, 2772
(2001
).148.
D. Macdonald and A. Cuevas, in Ref. 94, p. 1707–1710.
149.
C.
Feldman
, N. A.
Blum
, H. K.
Charles
, and F. G.
Satkiewicz
, J. Electron. Mater.
7
, 309
(1978
).150.
C. Feldman, N. A. Blum, and F. G. Satkiewicz, Proceedings of the 14th IEEE Photovoltaic Specialists Conference, San Diego, CA (IEEE, New York, 1980), pp. 391–396.
151.
C.
Feldman
, F. G.
Satkiewicz
, and N. A.
Blum
, Thin Solid Films
90
, 461
(1982
).152.
T. L.
Chu
, H. C.
Mollenkopf
, and S. C.
Chu
, J. Electrochem. Soc.
123
, 106
(1976
).153.
T. L. Chu, S. S. Chu, E. D. Stokes, C. L. Lin, and R. Abderrassoul, Proceedings of the 13th IEEE Photovoltaic Specialists Conference, Washington, DC (IEEE, New York, 1978), pp. 1106–1110.
154.
M. Deguchi, H. Morikawa, T. Itagaki, T. Ishihara, and H. Namizaki, Proceedings of the 22nd IEEE Photovoltaic Specialists Conference, Las Vegas, NV (IEEE, New York, 1991), pp. 986–991.
155.
A. Takami, S. Arimoto, H. Morikawa, S. Hamamoto, T. Ishihara, H. Kumabe, and T. Murotani, Proceedings of the 12th European Photovoltaic Solar Energy Conference, Amsterdam (Stephens and Associates, Bedford, UK, 1994), pp. 59–62.
156.
A. M. Barnett, R. B. Hall, D. A. Fardig, and J. S. Culik, in Ref. 103, pp. 1094–1099.
157.
J. A. Rand, J. E. Cotter, C. J. Thomas, A. E. Ingram, Y. B. Bai, T. R. Ruffins, and A. M. Barnett, Proceedings of the 1st World Conference on Photovoltaic Energy Conversion, Waikaloa, HI (IEEE, New York, 1994), pp. 1262–1265.
158.
Y. Bai, D. H. Ford, J. A. Rand, R. B. Hall, and A. M. Barnett, Proceedings of the 26th IEEE Photovoltaic Specialists Conference, Anaheim, CA (IEEE, New York, 1997), pp. 35–38.
159.
R. Auer et al., in Ref. 158, pp. 739–742.
160.
T. Mishima, S. Itoh, G. Matuda, M. Yamamoto, K. Yamamoto, H. Kiyama, and T. Yokoyama, Technical Digest of the 9th International Photovoltaic Science and Engineering Conference, Miyazaki, Japan (1996), pp. 243–244.
161.
A. K. Ghosh, T. Feng, and H. P. Maruska, Proceedings of the 14th IEEE Photovoltaic Specialists Conference, San Diego, CA (IEEE, New York, 1980), pp. 1169–1172.
162.
C. Hebling, S. W. Glunz, J. O. Schumacher, and J. Knobloch, Proceedings of the 14th European Photovoltaic Solar Energy Conference, Barcelona, Spain (Stephens and Associates, Bedford, UK, 1997), pp. 2318–2323.
163.
K. R. Sarma, R. W. Gurtler, R. N. Legge, R. J. Ellis, and I. A. Lesk, Proceedings of the 15th IEEE Photovoltaic Specialists Conference, Kissimmee, FL (IEEE, New York, 1981), pp. 941–948.
164.
F.
Tamura
, Y.
Okayasu
, and K.
Kumagai
, Sol. Energy Mater. Sol. Cells
34
, 263
(1994
).165.
N.
Tsuya
, K. I.
Arai
, T.
Takeuchi
, T.
Ojima
, and A.
Kuroiwa
, Jpn. J. Appl. Phys.
19
, 13
(1979
).166.
K. Peter, R. Kopecek, J. Hötzel, P. Fath, E. Bucher, C. Zahedi, and F. Ferrazza, Technical Digest of the 12th International Photovoltaic Science and Engineering Conference, Jeju, Korea (Korea Institute of Energy Research, 2001), pp. 77–78.
167.
G. Beaucarne, J. Poortmans, M. Caymax, J. Nijs, S. Bourdais, D. Angermeier, R. Monna, and A. Slaoui, Proceedings of the 2nd World Conference on Photovoltaic Solar Energy Conversion, Vienna, Austria (James and James, London, 1998), pp. 1814–1817.
168.
G.
Beaucarne
, M.
Caymax
, I.
Peytier
, and J.
Poortmans
, Solid State Phenomena
80–81
, 269
(2001
).169.
P. P. Altermatt, A. Schenk, M. A. Green, and G. Heiser, Technical Digest of the 11th International Photovoltaic Science and Engineering Conference, Sapporo, Japan (Tanaka, Kyoto, Japan, 1999), pp. 719–722.
170.
171.
172.
P. P.
Altermatt
, J.
Schmidt
, G.
Heiser
, and A. G.
Aberle
, J. Appl. Phys.
82
, 4938
(1997
).
This content is only available via PDF.
© 2002 American Institute of Physics.
2002
American Institute of Physics
You do not currently have access to this content.
