Photovoltaic Characterization of Si and SiGe Surfaces Sonochemically Treated in Dichloromethane

Authors V. Shmid, A. Podolian , A. Nadtochiy , D. Yazykov, M. Semenko, O. Korotchenkov
Affiliations

Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, 64/13, Volodymyrska Str., 01601 Kyiv, Ukraine

Е-mail hmdvi@gmail.com
Issue Volume 12, Year 2020, Number 1
Dates Received 30 January 2020; revised manuscript received 15 February 2020; published online 25 February 2020
Citation V. Shmid, A. Podolian, A. Nadtochiy, et al., J. Nano- Electron. Phys. 12 No 1, 01023 (2020)
DOI https://doi.org/10.21272/jnep.12(1).01023
PACS Number(s) 73.20. – r, 73.50.Pz, 73.61.Cw.
Keywords SiGe (5) , Photovoltage (2) , Surface passivation, Sonochemistry.
Annotation

It is well known that the near-surface recombination and trapping of photoexcited free carriers significantly affect the photovoltaic performance. Passivation techniques are therefore in great demand for current photovoltaic technologies. Different aspects of the surface passivation in Si and SiGe were widely addressed. It was particularly concluded that sonochemical surface treatments, e.g. in chloroform (CHCl3), can significantly improve the photovoltaic response. It is shown in this work that another reactive surface etchant containing carbon, dichloromethane (CH2Cl2), placed into the sonochemical reactor can effectively modify the surface photovoltaic response of Si and SiGe surfaces. X-ray diffraction studies revealed that the Si-Ge alloy layer exhibits solid solutions of Si in Ge (approximately 59 % of Si atoms) and Ge in Si (approximately 90 % of Si atoms). An order of magnitude larger photovoltaic signal, which is accompanied by slightly prolonged decay times, is observed in single crystal Si. A 50 % increase in the photovoltaic amplitude is reproduced in SiGe. In contrast to Si, sonochemical treatment of the SiGe surface tends to speed up the short-term component and slow down the long-term component of the double-exponential surface photovoltage signal. As dichloromethane acts as a carbon source, it can be suggested that sonochemically decomposed carbon atoms can effectively passivate silicon dangling bonds. We believe this sonochemical treatment step can be used for the surface passivation in manufacturing Si- and SiGe-based solar cells.

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