Publication de Pia Vasquez 2026
L'article "Assessment on work function characterization of thin nanocrystalline silicon layers for silicon heterojunction integration" a été publié dans Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells
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"The reported record efficiencies of silicon heterojunction solar cells using hydrogenated nanocrystalline silicon (nc-Si:H) as carrier-collector layers have increased interest in this material due to low activation energy. Band-bending in silicon creates a difference in work function (ϕ) between the bulk and the surface of the film. However, ϕ values of nc-Si:H have only been reported as estimates, with few direct measurements performed. Given the lack of reported data on the ϕ of nc-Si:H films, we compared various measurement techniques to establish reference values and evaluate the reliability of each method. Using Kelvin probe (KP), ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy, and electron beam repulsion (EBR), we measured the ϕ of intrinsic, n-type and p-type nc-Si:H layers. We discuss the effect of surface treatments based on ozone and hydrofluoric acid on the ϕ. EBR revealed that the ϕ of p-type films between 10 and 45 nm thick decreases with increasing thickness, dropping from 5.4 to 4.5 eV. This trend was not evident in KP measurements of thinner films. A similar plateau was observed for films thicker than 45 nm by both techniques. We also compared ϕ values measured using these techniques with those estimated from the activation energy obtained via temperature-dependent conductivity measurements."
"The reported record efficiencies of silicon heterojunction solar cells using hydrogenated nanocrystalline silicon (nc-Si:H) as carrier-collector layers have increased interest in this material due to low activation energy. Band-bending in silicon creates a difference in work function (ϕ) between the bulk and the surface of the film. However, ϕ values of nc-Si:H have only been reported as estimates, with few direct measurements performed. Given the lack of reported data on the ϕ of nc-Si:H films, we compared various measurement techniques to establish reference values and evaluate the reliability of each method. Using Kelvin probe (KP), ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy, and electron beam repulsion (EBR), we measured the ϕ of intrinsic, n-type and p-type nc-Si:H layers. We discuss the effect of surface treatments based on ozone and hydrofluoric acid on the ϕ. EBR revealed that the ϕ of p-type films between 10 and 45 nm thick decreases with increasing thickness, dropping from 5.4 to 4.5 eV. This trend was not evident in KP measurements of thinner films. A similar plateau was observed for films thicker than 45 nm by both techniques. We also compared ϕ values measured using these techniques with those estimated from the activation energy obtained via temperature-dependent conductivity measurements."