Mechanisms involved in the formation of phosphosilicate glass from a phosphoric acid dopant source

This study focused on how the formation of phosphosilicate glass (PSG) film affects the solar cell emitter profile when using an inline ultrasonic mist phosphoric acid source and an inline diffusion furnace. This investigation used a novel approach, whereby the samples were extracted from the inline furnace mid‐process that allowed for the investigation of incompletely formed PSGs. All experimentation was conducted at BP Solar Australia. Total Gravimetric Analysis found that the dilute phosphoric acid dehydrates to form a high concentration phosphoric acid layer on the top surface. X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy then showed this top surface reacts with the silicon and is reduced to form silicon phosphide. ECV results then demonstrated that the sheet resistance and emitter surface concentration of phosphorus is dependent upon the ratio of phosphide to total phosphorus in the PSG film. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Indium phosphide ICs unleash the high-frequency spectrum

As demand for high-frequency communications mushrooms, indium phosphide technology has emerged as a leading candidate for chips to meet that need. Already InP ICs with thousands of transistors are reaching speeds of over 65 GHz. The necessary level of complexity and speed is available from HBT ICs built on indium phosphide substrates using materials with different energy bandgaps for the emitter, the base, and, sometimes, the collector. They are the only viable option today for ICs that require 30GHz-plus frequencies and LSI complexity. Applications that can get by with lower levels of integration but require higher frequency operation of 94 GHz and beyond, such as missile radar, are currently best served by indium phosphide high-electron-mobility transistors (HEMTs)     

Silicon solar cells based on all‐laser‐transferred contacts

Crystalline silicon solar cells based on all‐laser‐transferred contacts (ALTC) have been fabricated with both front and rear metallization achieved through laser induced forward transferring. Both the front and rear contacts were laser‐transferred from a glass slide coated with a metal layer to the silicon substrate already processed with emitter formation, surface passivation, and antireflection coating. Ohmic contacts were achieved after this laser transferring. The ALTC solar cells were fabricated on chemically textured p‐type Cz silicon wafers. An initial conversion efficiency of over 15% was achieved on a simple cell structure with full‐area emitter. Further improvements are expected with optimized laser transferring conditions, front grid pattern design, and surface passivation. The ALTC process demonstrates the advantage of laser processing in simplifying the solar cell fabrication by a one‐step metal transferring and firing process. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Large-Area Direct Hetero-Epitaxial Growth of 1550-nm InGaAsP Multi-Quantum-Well Structures on Patterned Exact-Oriented (001) Silicon Substrates by Metal Organic Chemical Vapor Deposition

We employ a simple two-step growth technique to grow large-area 1550-nm laser structures by direct hetero-epitaxy of III–V compounds on patterned exact-oriented (001) silicon (Si) substrates by metal organic chemical vapor deposition. Densely-packed, highly uniform, flat and millimeter-long indium phosphide (InP) nanowires were grown from Si v-grooves separated by silicon dioxide (SiO₂) stripes with various widths and pitches. Following removal of the SiO₂ patterns, the InP nanowires were coalesced and, subsequently, 1550-nm laser structures were grown in a single overgrowth without performing any polishing for planarization. X-ray diffraction, photoluminescence, atomic force microscopy and transmission electron microscopy analyses were used to characterize the epitaxial material. PIN diodes were fabricated and diode-rectifying behavior was observed.     

Co‐optimization of emitter profile and metal grid of selective emitter silicon solar cells

Co‐optimization of the metallization and emitter dopant profile is fully investigated for selective emitter crystalline silicon solar cells. The simulation parameters for the laser doping selective emitter, metallization by plating, silicon nitride passivation, and aluminum back surface field are identified and reached. Internal light flux reflection is also considered in the model. In particular, the influence of the increased light trapping ability of a textured surface on the optimization results is clarified by comparing a cell with a non‐textured surface. In this paper, the optimization results, including the electrical performances of a solar cell are discussed in detail. On the basis of these simulation results, an optimized metallization and emitter dopant profile is proposed. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Silicon nitride as a mask in phosphorus diffusion

By means of tracer and activation experiments it is shown that during phosphorus diffusion in silicon nitride diffusion profiles are produced, which are very similar to the profiles in silicon dioxide processed in the same experiment. When oxygen was used as part of the carrier gas as is customary in semiconductor technology, a glass was produced in both cases which consisted of SiO₂ and P₂O₅ and whose identity was proved by i.r. absorption and determination of the refractive index. When the medium does not contain oxygen, part of the nitride is transformed to silicon phosphide which is incorporated in the glass or escapes at higher temperatures. When oxygen is present, the silicon phosphide occurs briefly in an intermediate reaction. In this way the normal, slow oxidation of the nitride is accelerated and phosphorus pentoxide acts as a catalyst. The analogous formation of glass from oxide and nitride is the reason why silicon nitride exhibits a similar masking effect as silicon dioxide in phosphorus diffusion, even though it masks better than silicon dioxide against the diffusion of a number of other elements.     

Semi-insulating selective regrowth of surface light emitting diodes

Selective regrowth of indium phosphide (InP) using organometallic vapor phase epitaxy (OMVPE) on a circular shaped mesa has been demonstrated for the first time. Inclusion of an interfacial layer of indium gallium arsenide phosphide between the circular dielectric mask and the underlying material produces a favorable smooth mesa profile by controlling the level of undercut during mesa etching. This combination of profile and undercut was found to be critical for successful selective regrowth and planarization. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time that a surface light emitting diode has been demonstrated with a selective OMVPE semi-insulating regrowth. The semi-insulating InP layer reduces parasitic capacitance and improves the heat dissipation out of the device. These salient features make these devices suitable for high speed digital and analog communication applications.     

一种实用的磷化铟MMIC背面工艺技术

采用湿法技术发展了磷化铟MMIC的背面通孔刻蚀工艺,PMMA用作粘片剂,InP衬底粘附于玻璃版上,溅射钽膜用作湿法刻蚀掩膜,HCl+H3PO4腐蚀液实现100μm的通孔腐蚀.已证实这种湿法通孔工艺宽容度大,精确可控.     

Selective laser ablation of SiNx layers on textured surfaces for low temperature front side metallizations

For an alternative front side metallization process without screen printing of metal paste the selective opening of the front surface anti‐reflection coating could be realized by laser ablation. A successful implementation of this scheme requires direct absorption of the laser light within the anti‐reflection coating, since the emitter underneath must not be damaged severely. Additionally, the ablation must be feasible on textured surfaces. In this paper, we show that laser light with a wavelength of 355 nm and a pulse length of approximately 30 ns is absorbed directly by a typical silicon nitride anti‐reflection coating. Based on lifetime measurements on ablated samples it is shown that a damage free laser ablation of SiN_x layers on planar surfaces is possible. The characteristic ablation structure on textured surfaces is explained and quantified by rigorous coupled wave analysis (RCWA) simulations. Finally, high efficiency solar cells with a standard emitter (R_sh approx. 50 Ω/sq) have been processed using laser ablation of the silicon nitride anti‐reflection coating. These cells show efficiencies of up to 19·1%, comparable to the reference solar cells using photolithographically opened contact areas. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Depth distribution of deep-level centers in silicon dioxide near an interface with indium phosphide

The constant capacitance method with measurement of the voltage-time dependence over a long period of time is used to determine the profile of the density of deep-level centers in an insulator at an interface with a semiconductor. The distribution of deep-level centers in silicon dioxide near an interface with indium phosphide is measured. It is shown that the density of deep-level centers does not depend on the coordinate at distances in the interval 22–27 Å from the interface.     

Strange bedfellows [semiconductor technology]

Silicon is the stuff of memories and microprocessors. III-V semiconductors-compounds made of elements inhabiting the third and fifth columns of the periodic table, like gallium arsenide-are the stuff of high-frequency communications chips, LEDs, and solid-state lasers. But these two types of materials have never been able to live together on the same chip. Now, researchers in Europe have found that at the nanometer scale, they can get along just fine. The researchers grew indium phosphide and gallium phosphide nanowires on a silicon substrate, clearing the path for the manufacture of cheaper high frequency chips and silicon devices embedding LEDs and lasers.     

Experiments on hot electron noise in semiconductor materials forhigh-speed devices

Experimental results on noise temperature and spectral density of current fluctuations (electron diffusion) at high electric fields in silicon, gallium arsenide, and indium phosphide are presented. The dominant noise sources are discussed in their relation to electron scattering mechanisms. Physical backgrounds of high speed-low noise performance (noise-speed tradeoff) are considered. Suppression in short samples of the fluctuations having long correlation time constant and (or) high threshold energy is discussed     

Efficient fundamental frequency oscillation from millimetre-wave indium phosphide n+-n-n+ transferred electron oscillators

The letter describes the development of CW indium phosphide, transferred-electron oscillators (TEOs) with emphasis being place on the achievement of efficient operation in the millimetre-wave frequency range. Reasons are given for the choice of the n+-n-n+ epitaxial structure used, together with relevant material growth and characterisation details. A brief outline of the device fabrication technology is given before discussing oscillator performances. Results are presented for operating frequencies from 30 to 110 GHz which show that the three-layer indium phosphide device is capable of much higher conversion efficiencies than the equivalent gallium arsenide structure at frequencies above 40 GHz. From these figures it is concluded that indium phosphide will supplant gallium arsenide as a mm-wave TEO material.     

Hybrid integration of GaAs-based VCSEL array with amorphous silicon sensor

We describe an optoelectronic module incorporating a vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL) array with a semitransparent light monitor. The power monitor is a p-i-n amorphous silicon photodetector fabricated on glass. Sets of micromachined springs for electrical contacting are also fabricated in the same process on the same glass substrate. Hybrid packages are formed by pressing the compliant springs against individual contact pads of the GaAs VCSEL array in a flip-chip assembly process. The light sensor is aligned directly on top of the laser elements. Most of the laser light is transmitted through the sensor, yet a large dynamic range is maintained because of the sensors exceedingly low dark current.     

Hybrid integration of surface-emitting microlaser chip and planaroptics substrate for interconnection applications

The bonding of a monolithic array of surface-emitting microlasers onto a glass substrate that contains a matching array of microlenses and mirrors is reported. The bonding was achieved by flip-chip solder bump bonding using indium as the solder material. The alignment precision is within ±2 μm. The optical substrate provides a simple interconnection scheme that routes the light from each laser to well defined output positions     

Electron‐beam crystallized large grained silicon solar cell on glass substrate

Thin film hetero‐emitter solar cells with large‐grained poly‐silicon absorbers of around 10 µm thickness have been prepared on glass. The basis of the cell concept is electron‐beam‐crystallization of an amorphous or nanocrystalline silicon layer deposited onto a SiC:B layer. The SiC:B layer covers a commercially well available glass substrate, serving as diffusion barrier, contact layer and dopand source. For silicon absorber deposition a low pressure chemical vapour deposition was used. The successively applied e‐beam crystallization process creates poly‐silicon layers with grain sizes up to 1 × 10 mm² with low defect densities. The high electronic quality of the absorber is reflected in open circuit voltages as high as 545 mV, which are realized making use of the well‐developed a‐Si:H hetero‐emitter technology. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Influence of the dislocation density on the performance ofheteroepitaxial indium phosphide solar cells

The authors point out that heteroepitaxial indium phosphide solar cells developed to date have low efficiency due to misfit dislocations. Dislocations act as recombination centers and strongly influence the solar cell performance. Calculations have been made to study the dependence of heteroepitaxial InP solar cell efficiency on dislocation density. The effects of surface recombination velocity and cell emitter thickness are also considered. Calculated results are compared with the available experimental results on representative InP solar cells. It is shown that heteroepitaxial InP cells with over 20% AM0 efficiency could be fabricated if dislocation density can be reduced to <10⁵ cm^-2 and the surface recombination velocity reduced to <10⁵ cm/s     

Highly transparent modulated surface textured front electrodes for high‐efficiency multijunction thin‐film silicon solar cells

To further increase the efficiency of multijunction thin‐film silicon (TF‐Si) solar cells, it is crucial for the front electrode to have a good transparency and conduction, to provide efficient light trapping for each subcell, and to ensure a suitable morphology for the growth of high‐quality silicon layers. Here, we present the implementation of highly transparent modulated surface textured (MST) front electrodes as light‐trapping structures in multijunction TF‐Si solar cells. The MST substrates comprise a micro‐textured glass, a thin layer of hydrogenated indium oxide (IOH), and a sub‐micron nano‐textured ZnO layer grown by low‐pressure chemical vapor deposition (LPCVD ZnO). The bilayer IOH/LPCVD ZnO stack guarantees efficient light in‐coupling and light trapping for the top amorphous silicon (a‐Si:H) solar cell while minimizing the parasitic absorption losses. The crater‐shaped micro‐textured glass provides both efficient light trapping in the red and infrared wavelength range and a suitable morphology for the growth of high‐quality nanocrystalline silicon (nc‐Si:H) layers. Thanks to the efficient light trapping for the individual subcells and suitable morphology for the growth of high‐quality silicon layers, multijunction solar cells deposited on MST substrates have a higher efficiency than those on single‐textured state‐of‐the‐art LPCVD ZnO substrates. Efficiencies of 14.8% (initial) and 12.5% (stable) have been achieved for a‐Si:H/nc‐Si:H tandem solar cells with the MST front electrode, surpassing efficiencies obtained on state‐of‐the‐art LPCVD ZnO, thereby highlighting the high potential of MST front electrodes for high‐efficiency multijunction solar cells. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Heteroepitaxial growth of gallium phosphide on silicon

A new method of growing gallium phosphide on a silicon substrate is presented. The method includes an extra but simple process of depositing a thin phosphorus layer on a silicon substrate prior to the growth of gallium phosphide by a so-called halide transport method. Electronic and optical properties of the heterojunctions indicate that the interfaces between the gallium phosphide layers and silicon substrates had a higher quality than those previously reported.     

Avalanche breakdown in silicon devices for contactless logic testing and optical interconnect

A silicon p–n junction that is biased in avalanche breakdown mode emits visible light. Although the efficiency of such silicon emitters is poor, their ability to modulate at GHz frequencies make them a good choice for many applications including optical interconnect and optical contactless logic testing. Results demonstrate the feasibility of an all silicon optical interconnect system and an all silicon contactless testing methodology using the silicon light emitter and standard silicon detectors. The development of truly efficient silicon light emitting would enable many new applications.