Doping of silicon quantum dots embedded in nitride matrix for all-silicon tandem cells

Boron (B)- and antimony (Sb)-doped Si quantum dots (QDs) in Si3N4 films were fabricated using the co-sputtering method with a post-deposition anneal. The effect of B and Sb on Si QDs films was investigated in terms of structural, optical and electrical properties. It is found that a low dopant concentration induced negligible structural changes in the Si QD films. The PL intensity decreases with increasing B or Sb content. This could result from the non-radiative recombination processes attributed to defects associated with the dopants and Auger processes due to successful doping of Si QDs. For the B-doped sample the conductivity increases about 100 times, which could be attributed to an increase in carrier concentration. For the Sb-doped sample, a significant increase (six orders of magnitude) in conductivity suggests an effective Sb doping. The charge transport mechanism in the Sb-doped Si QD films matches well with the percolation-hopping model in low temperature region. Both B- and Sb-doped samples show thermally activated hopping conduction characteristics in the range of 220-320 K.