High-pressure sputtering deposition and in situ plasma oxidation of TiOx thin films as electron selective contact for photovoltaic applications

In this article, we show the structural, optical, and electrical characterization of TiOx deposited by the unconventional technique of High-Pressure Sputtering (HPS). This technique has the potential to reduce the plasma-induced damage of the samples. To fabricate the TiOx, a 2-step process was used. Firstly, a thin Ti film was deposited in an Ar atmosphere. Secondly, O2 was introduced into the HPS chamber to create an Ar/O2 plasma that, along with low temperatures (150 °C or 200 °C), induces the oxidation of the deposited Ti film. With this approach, the Ti film is expected to behave as a capping layer that will reduce the oxidation of the Si substrate. This study aims to obtain a TiOx layer with low specific contact resistivity (ρc) and high minority carrier lifetime. These are crucial characteristics for obtaining high-quality selective contact. It was found that the 2-step process can oxidize the Ti layer. These HPS TiOx layers show a resistivity in the order of 0.3–10 Ωcm and a ratio Ti/O of ∼1.9. Moreover, the SiOx regrowth is minimal since this is comparable to the native oxide. This was confirmed by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The samples fabricated with a Ti layer (∼4 nm) plus an oxidation temperature of 200 °C (duration of less than 2 h) show a low ρc of 0.02 Ωcm2, an excellent transmittance (>87 %) in the visible region and an optical bandgap of 2.8 eV. These TiOx layers are amorphous, although some anatase phase crystalline clusters appear for the 200 °C processes. However, the minority carrier lifetime results of Si passivated by TiOx were inadequate for fabricating efficient solar cells. We also found that using the RCA oxide improved lifetime. This indicates that introducing alternative low-temperature passivating layers can solve this issue. [Display omitted] •TiOx films as electron selective contacts for Si solar cells deposited by the uncommon technique of high-pressure sputtering.•Ar/O2 plasma plus low temperatures were used to oxidize the previously sputtered Ti thin film.•TiOx films show good transparency in the visible region and a bandgap of 2.8 eV.•Sputtering TiOx at high pressure shows low specific contact resistivity of 20 ± 29 mΩ cm2.•The use of chemically growth SiOx (RCA) between c-Si and TiOX shows and improvement in lifetime.