Reactive ion etching of dielectrics and silicon for photovoltaic applications

This paper investigates the reactive ion etching of SiO₂, Si₃N₄, and Si using CHF₃/O₂ plasma. In particular, we have characterized the time and rf power dependence of the carrier lifetimes in n- and p-type FZ Si. The time dependence of reactive ion etching (RIE) at different rf powers provide insight into the two competing processes of damage accumulation and damage removal in the near-surface region of the Si during plasma etching. The carrier lifetime, measured using the quasi-steady-state photoconductance (QSSPC) technique, has a quadratic dependence on the rf power, which can be related to changes in the dc self-bias generated by the plasma at different rf powers. The change in carrier lifetime is similar in both n- and p-type Si of the same doping concentration. Using this fact, together with the electronic properties of defects obtained by deep level transient spectroscopy (DLTS), we have modeled the injection-dependence of the measured carrier lifetimes using the Shockley-Read-Hall model. The isochronal annealing behavior of plasma etched Si has also been studied.