from the conferences organized by TANGER Ltd.
We present the surface lifetime characterization of the textured silicon surface for the application in solar cells. The measurement by the Sinton WCT-120 PL lifetime tester is compared with the simulation by the Silvaco TCAD software to get possible values of the surface recombination velocity. The n-type silicon textured surface wafers were used as the substrate. In the first experiment, the carrier lifetime was measured and simulated of the pure textured surface. The second experiment was done after deposition of aluminum oxide by the Atomic Layer Deposition on the textured surface. The thermal method was used with TMA as a precursor. The two-dimensional TCAD calculation was realized on the silicon structure with textured surface. The surface profile was determined by the AFM measurement. Two electrodes were placed on both sides of the structure to calculate the current flow generated by the light pulse. The real Sinton optical source spectrum was approximated by the five beams in the range 690 - 830 nm with different intensities. The current decrease connected with the decay of the optical intensity was simulated. The comparison of experimental results with the TCAD simulation gives the possibility to distinguish between the bulk carrier lifetime and surface recombination velocity. The coincidence of the measured and simulated graphs by the fitting the simulation parameters result in the realistic value of the surface recombination velocity. It can be used for the classification of the silicon surface passivation influence on the solar cells’ efficiency.
Keywords: Surface recombination velocity, carrier lifetime, textured silicon© This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.