Enhancing the surface passivation of TiO2 coated silicon wafers

Abstract

In this letter, we demonstrate good surface passivation of lightly diffused n-type solar cell emitters using titanium dioxide ( TiO 2 ) thin films treated with a furnaceoxidation process. Transient-photoconductance decay, x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and scanning electron microscopy measurements indicate that the silicon dioxide layer formed at the TiO 2 : Si interface provides excellent surface passivation. Emitter dark saturation current densities of 4.7×10 −14 A/cm 2 are achieved by this method, demonstrating that TiO 2 films are compatible with high-efficiency solar cellstructures.