Passivating TiO2 coatings for silicon solar cells by pulsed laser deposition

Abstract. Pulsed laser deposition was used to deposit TiO2 anti-reflection coatings for silicon solar cells. We deposited smooth coatings with an optimal refractive index of 2.3 for use as anti-reflection coating. The introduction of passivating qualities was achieved by deposition in different gasses. The best result was obtained with deposition in a water vapour ambient. The plasma shape and the position of the substrate in the plasma appeared important for properties such as the smoothness, the thickness distribution and the passivating quality. An increase in the measured effective lifetime of up to 137% during modulated free carrier absorption measurements was observed.