Sintered porous silicon [Elektronische Ressource] : physical properties and applications for layer-transfer silicon thin-film solar cells / von Andreas Wolf

Sintered Porous SiliconPhysical Properties andApplications for Layer-Tranfer SiliconThin-Film Solar CellsVon der Fakult¨at fu¨r Mathematik und Physikder Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Universit¨at Hannoverzur Erlangung des GradesDoktor der NaturwissenschaftenDr. rer. nat.genehmigte DissertationvonDipl.-Phys. Andreas Wolfgeboren am 19.03.1977 in Dortmund2007Referent: Prof. Dr. Rolf BrendelKorreferentin: Prof. Dr. Karina MorgensternTag der Promotion: 16.07.2007AbstractThis work focusses on the characterisation of sintered porous silicon and on the development ofmonocrystallinesiliconthin-filmsolarcellsfromthePorousSiliconProcess(PSIprocess). Forthefabrication of these solar cells, a thin silicon film is epitaxially grown on a monocrystalline silicongrowth substrate, that features a layer of porous silicon (PS) at the surface. Due to the ther-mal activation during the epitaxial growth process, the PS layer reconfigurates and mechanicallyweakens, which later permits the transfer of the thin-film device to a second carrier substrate.When separating the epitaxial film from the growth substrate, a residual layer of sintered poroussilicon (SPS) remains attached to the rear side of the device. So far, the physical properties ofthis layer and its impact on the performance of PSI solar cells have been poorly investigated.