Influence of substrate potential on a-Si:H passivation of Si foils bonded to glass

In the future solar devices will be manufactured onto thin mono-crystalline silicon wafers (foils) potentially bonded to substrate carriers. In this study, the influence of the substrate carrier potential (grounded or floating) on the amorphous silicon a-Si:H surface passivation of the bonded foil is discussed for the cases of conductive and insulating substrate carriers. A conductive carrier leads to an increase in deposition rate and ion bombardment energy, which is detrimental for sample lifetime. An insulating carrier, e.g., a glass substrate, inverts the trend and improves the a-Si:H surface passivation.