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  4. Quantification of hydrogen in nanostructured hydrogenated passivating contacts for silicon photovoltaics combining SIMS-APT-TEM: A multiscale correlative approach
 
research article

Quantification of hydrogen in nanostructured hydrogenated passivating contacts for silicon photovoltaics combining SIMS-APT-TEM: A multiscale correlative approach

Pal, Soupitak
•
Barrirero, Jenifer
•
Lehmann, Mario  
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July 30, 2021
Applied Surface Science

Multiscale characterization of the hydrogenation process of silicon solar cell contacts based on c-Si/SiOx/ncSiCx(p) has been performed by combining dynamic secondary ion mass-spectrometry (D-SIMS), atom probe tomography (APT), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). These contacts are formed by high-temperature firing, which triggers the crystallization of SiCx, followed by a hydrogenation process to passivate remaining interfacial defects. Due to the difficulty of characterizing hydrogen at the nm-scale, the exact hydrogenation mechanisms have remained elusive. Using a correlative TEM-SIMS-APT analysis, we are able to locate hydrogen trap sites and quantify the hydrogen content. Deuterium (D), a heavier isotope of hydrogen, is used to distinguish hydrogen introduced during hydrogenation from its background signal. D-SIMS is used, due to its high sensitivity, to get an accurate deuterium-to-hydrogen ratio, which is then used to correct deuterium profiles extracted from APT reconstructions. This new methodology to quantify the concentration of trapped hydrogen in nm-scale structures sheds new insights on hydrogen distribution in technologically important photovoltaic materials.

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Type
research article
DOI
10.1016/j.apsusc.2021.149650
Web of Science ID

WOS:000647653000001

Author(s)
Pal, Soupitak
Barrirero, Jenifer
Lehmann, Mario  
Jeangros, Quentin  
Valle, Nathalie
Haug, Franz-Josef  
Hessler-Wyser, Aicha  
Kumar, C. N. Shyam
Muecklich, Frank
Wirtz, Tom
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Date Issued

2021-07-30

Publisher

ELSEVIER

Published in
Applied Surface Science
Volume

555

Article Number

149650

Subjects

Chemistry, Physical

•

Materials Science, Coatings & Films

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Physics, Applied

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Physics, Condensed Matter

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Chemistry

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Materials Science

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Physics

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secondary ion mass spectrometry (sims)

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atom probe tomography (apt)

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transmission electron microscopy (tem)

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c-si-solar cell

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correlative microscopy

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solar-cells

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trapping sites

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temperature

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deuterium

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oxygen

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steel

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adsorption

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relocation

•

resolution

•

mechanism

Editorial or Peer reviewed

REVIEWED

Written at

EPFL

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PV-LAB  
Available on Infoscience
June 19, 2021
Use this identifier to reference this record
https://infoscience.epfl.ch/handle/20.500.14299/179119
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