Exploring hafnium oxide's potential for passivating contacts for silicon solar cells

We investigate the potential of ultra-thin HfO₂ films grown by atomic layer deposition for passivating contacts to silicon focusing on variations in film thickness and post-deposition annealing temperature. A peak in passivation quality – as assessed by carrier lifetime measurements – is reported for 2.2 nm thick films annealed at 475 °C, for which a surface recombination velocity <1 cm/s is determined. For films <2.2 nm thick, there is a marked decrease in passivation quality. X-ray diffraction highlights a change from crystallised monoclinic to amorphous HfO₂ as film thickness decreases from 12 nm to 2.2 nm. Kelvin probe results indicate that as-deposited 2.2–12 nm films have similar effective work functions, although the work function of 1 nm films is considerably lower. Upon post-deposition annealing in vacuum, all films exhibit a reduction in effective work function at temperatures coincident with the onset of passivation in air-annealed samples. An initial investigation into the contact resistivity in a passivating contact structure utilizing HfO₂ reveals a strong post-deposition annealing temperature dependence, with the lowest resistance achieved below 375 °C, followed by a decrease in performance as temperature increases towards the optimal temperature for passivation (475 °C). Limitations of the contact structure used are discussed.