Deposition and Determination of the Properties of Silicon Nitride Films in Argon and Nitrogen Atmospheres

Silicon nitride films were deposited on glass and polycrystalline silicon by RF sputtering using hot pressed ceramic Si3N4 target. Depositions were done in Argon and Nitrogen atmospheres. In order to optimize an antireflective coating for solar cells, sputtered silicon nitride thin films were grown with various RF power of deposition in two different atmospheres. The compositional, morphological and optical properties of film were investigated by RBS, SEM and UV/VIS/IR spectrophotometer analyses. Silicon nitride films (2000nm thickness) deposited with the RF power between 100-150W have exhibited high transparency≈92% for the spectral range between 300-1200nm. The silicon nitride antireflection coating deposited on the textured surface of multicrystalline silicon solar cells decreased the overall reflection of the cells from 12% to less than 2%.