Microwave PECVD deposited SiNx:H films for crystalline silicon solar cell application

SiNx:H films were investigated by varying the total gas pressure in plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD). Minority carrier lifetimes were measured to monitor the fabricated process by microwave photoconductive decay (mu-PCD) technology. Annealing temperature in infrared (IR) heated belt furnace were also investigated to find the optimized condition. After annealing process, the minority carrier lifetimes of silicon wafers were enhanced. It was shown that annealing process provided additional bulk passivation process due to hydrogen diffusion. Adopted annealing condition should be used in solar cell fabrication to achieve higher minority carrier lifetimes. The multicrystalline silicon (mc-Si) solar cells (non-textured) with conversion efficiency of 14.92% fabricated in industrial production line were obtained in the optimized deposition and annealing conditions.