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High-temperature annealing effects on molybdenum–silicon contact substrate for vertically structured silicon quantum-dot solar cells

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Abstract

This paper studies the applicability of sputtered Molybdenum (Mo) thin films on silicon wafers (Mo–Si) to act as contact substrates for vertically structured Si quantum-dot (QD) solar cells. The compatibility of Mo–Si contact substrate with Si QD material under different annealing temperatures is examined. Cross sections of annealed samples show well-defined interfaces without metal penetration into the Si QD bilayer regions. Through comparing samples deposited on Mo–Si substrates with those on fused-silica substrates, we identified from Raman spectra that the presence of Mo is advantageous for the Si-crystallization process and in fact provide beneficial passivation effects on the Si QD material according to changes in photoluminescence intensity. This allows us to conclude that Mo thin films are compatible with the sputter–anneal process, and verify the feasibility of using the proposed Mo–Si contact scheme for future fabrication of Si QD solar cells.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the Australian Government through the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA). Responsibility for the views, information or advice expressed herein is not accepted by the Australian Government. This work also was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant nos. 51272033, 51572037, 51335002, 91648109). The authors acknowledge the facilities, and the scientific and technical assistance of the Australian Microscopy & Microanalysis Research Facility at the Electron Microscope Unit at the University of New South Wales, as well as the Australian Centre for Microscopy & Microanalysis at the University of Sydney. The authors would also like to thank Fangyang Liu for his efforts in preparation of sputtered Mo thin films.

Funding

This study was supported by the Australian Government through the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA). Responsibility for the views, information or advice expressed herein is not accepted by the Australian Government. This work also was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant nos. 51272033, 51572037, 51335002, 91648109).

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Author notes

  1. Terry Chien-Jen Yang

    Present address: Institute of Microengineering (IMT), Photovoltaics and Thin-Film Electronics Laboratory, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Rue de la Maladière 71b, 2000, Neuchâtel, Switzerland

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Jiangsu Province Cultivation Base for State Key Laboratory of Photovoltaic Science and Technology, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Jiangsu Collaborative Innovation Center of Photovoltaic Science and Engineering, Changzhou University, Changzhou, 213164, Jiangsu, China

    Xuguang Jia & Jianning Ding

  2. School of Photovoltaic and Renewable Energy Engineering, University of New South Wales, Building H6, Tyree Energy Technologies Building, Kensington, NSW, 2052, Australia

    Ziyun Lin, Terry Chien-Jen Yang, Tian Zhang, Binesh Puthen-Veettil, Lingfeng Wu, Gavin Conibeer & Ivan Perez-Wurfl

  3. Micro/Nano Science and Technology Center, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang, 212013, China

    Jianning Ding

  4. School of Engineering, Macquarie University, North Ryde, NSW, 2109, Australia

    Binesh Puthen-Veettil

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  1. Xuguang Jia
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Jia, X., Lin, Z., Yang, T.CJ. et al. High-temperature annealing effects on molybdenum–silicon contact substrate for vertically structured silicon quantum-dot solar cells. Appl Nanosci 9, 135–142 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13204-018-0893-7

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