Method of forming a negatively charged passivation layer over a diffused p-type region

Abstract

The present invention generally provides a method of forming a high quality passivation layer over a p-type doped region to form a high efficiency solar cell device. Embodiments of the present invention may be especially useful for preparing a surface of a boron doped region formed in a silicon substrate. In one embodiment, the methods include exposing a surface of the solar cell substrate to a plasma to clean and modify the physical, chemical and / or electrical characteristics of the surface and then deposit a charged dielectric layer and passivation layer thereon.

Description

technical field [0001] Embodiments of the present invention relate generally to the fabrication of solar cells, and in particular to device structures and methods for passivation of surfaces of crystalline silicon solar cells. Background technique [0002] A solar cell is a photovoltaic (PV) device that directly converts sunlight into electrical energy. The most common solar cell material is silicon (Si), which can be in the form of single crystal, polycrystalline or polycrystalline substrates. Because the cost of generating electricity using silicon-based solar cells is higher than the cost of generating electricity through conventional methods, efforts have been made to reduce the cost of manufacturing solar cells without detrimentally affecting the overall efficacy of the solar cells. [0003] figure 1 A cross-sectional view of a standard silicon solar cell 100 formed from a crystalline silicon substrate 110 is schematically shown. The substrate 110 includes a base reg...

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Problems solved by technology

However, since silicon nitride (SiN) is an amorphous material, a complete match between the silicon lattice of the emitter region 102 and the amorphous structure of the passivation layer 104 cannot be produced.

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