Poly-Si/SiOx/c-Si passivating contact with 738 mV implied open circuit voltage fabricated by hot-wire chemical vapor deposition.

Hot-wire chemical vapor deposition (HWCVD) was utilized to develop a fast and high quality a-Si:H thin film fabrication method for poly-Si/SiO_x carrier selective passivating contacts targeting at n-type passivated emitter rear totally diffused crystalline silicon solar cells. The microstructure and hydrogen content of the a-Si:H thin films were analyzed by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy in order to understand the influence of film properties on passivation and conductivity. Dense layers were found to be beneficial for good passivation. On the other hand, blistering appeared as a-Si:H layers became more and more dense. However, by adjusting the SiH₄ flow rate and the substrate heater temperature, blistering of a-Si:H could be avoided. A suitable process window was found and firing-stable implied open circuit voltage (iV_oc) of up to 738 mV was achieved. In addition to high iV_oc, a low contact resistivity of 0.034 Ω cm² was also achieved. The deposition rate of the a-Si:H layers was 7 Å/s by using HWCVD, which is one order of magnitude higher than the deposition rate reported using other deposition methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]