Enhancing The Optical And Electrical Properties of Si-based Nanostructured Materials

Multilayer structures of Si rich silicon oxide (SiOx) alternated with two types of dielectric sublayers viz. SiO2 or SiNx have been studied. An enhancement in the density of nanoclusters within the SiOx sublayer is achieved by using the reactive magnetron co-sputtering method. The effect of SiNx sublayer thickness on the photoluminescence properties is investigated. We succeed in enhancing the absorption and the pholuminescence properties of the multilayers by replacing SiO2 by SiNx sublayers. We also achieve a higher conductivity in SiOx/SiNx with an improved thermal budget. This preliminary study gives a deep insight to optimize materials for future solar cell device applications with enhanced properties at reduced thermal budget.