Advanced Optical Characterization of Industrial PECVD Silicon Nitride Layers (original) (raw)

2016

Abstract

Deposition of silicon nitride layers on top of silicon wafers using industrial plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition systems is a major component in today's manufacturing of silicon solar cells. Previous work has demonstrated non-uniformity in the optical properties within the bulk of dynamically deposited layers using such in-line systems. A gradient in the optical properties within the layer emphasizes the need for optical characterization as a function of the layer's depth. This paper presents an advanced method to characterize dynamically deposited silicon nitride layers, where the modelling of the experimental ellipsometry spectra is performed by grading of the Tauc-Lorentz optical parameters along the normal of the layer. Significant improvements are demonstrated over the standard, more commonly used Tauc-Lorentz modelling procedure; mainly by revealing of the depth profiles of the layer's optical properties.

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