Chemically active plasmas for surface passivation of Si photovoltaics

•We review the chemically active plasmas for surface passivation of Si PV.•We examine the plasma catalyzed deposition for passivation materials.•The involved physical and chemical elementary processes are given.•The passivation mechanism is pinpointed.•The relationship between plasma process and passivation performance is identified.

The plasma catalyzed deposition of compound dielectrics is very common for surface passivation of Si-based solar cells in recent decades. This paper reviews the underlying physics and chemistry of chemically active plasmas for the deposition of dielectric films including hydrogenated amorphous silicon nitride (a-SiNx:H), aluminum oxide (Al2O3) and hydrogenated amorphous silicon oxide (a-SiOx:H). The relevant growth and passivation mechanisms are identified and several examples are selected to represent the superiority of plasma processes in the application of Si photovoltaics.

Graphical abstractFigure optionsDownload full-size imageDownload high-quality image (89 K)Download as PowerPoint slide