Phosphorus emitter profile control for silicon solar cell using the doss diffusion technique

Abstract

The Doped Oxide Solid Source (DOSS) diffusion technique is well suited for fine-tuning of the surface concentration. The dopant surface concentration is important during phosphorus emitter diffusion due to the opposite requirements of a lowly doped emitter for good blue response and a sufficiently high surface concentration for a good ohmic contact. The sources are made in the laboratory using the standard POCl3 diffusion technique. DOSS Diffusions were carried out in the temperature range 850-1050°C using sources with different doping levels obtained by varying the POCl3 partial pressure from 0.004 % to 4.28 %. The electrical profiles were measured using the Stripping Hall profiling technique. Phosphorus diffusion profiles with the complete elimination of the dead layer have been obtained over a large range of source concentrations for all investigated diffusion temperatures. The residual diffusion oxide thickness increased with both temperature and source doping level within the range 7.5-30 nm. XPS profiling indicated that the composition of the residual glass was a mixture of P2O5 and SiO2.

Keywords

• doping
• silicon
• emitter
• dead layer
• residual diffusion oxide