Bulletin of the American Physical Society
APS March Meeting 2021
Volume 66, Number 1
Monday–Friday, March 15–19, 2021; Virtual; Time Zone: Central Daylight Time, USA
Session H71: Poster Session I (2:00pm - 4:00pm)
2:00 PM,
Tuesday, March 16, 2021
Abstract: H71.00327 : Surface Energy Engineering of GaAs and Si for NanoBonding in Tandem Solar Cells*
Presenter:
Pranav Penmatcha
(Dpt of Physics/Eyring Materials Center, Arizona State University)
Authors:
Pranav Penmatcha
(Dpt of Physics/Eyring Materials Center, Arizona State University)
Aashi R Gurijala
(Dpt of Physics/Eyring Materials Center, Arizona State University)
Siddarth Jandhyala
(Dpt of Physics/Eyring Materials Center, Arizona State University)
Nikhil Suresh
(Dpt of Physics/Eyring Materials Center, Arizona State University)
Amber A Chow
(Dpt of Physics/Eyring Materials Center, Arizona State University)
Shaurya Khanna
(Dpt of Physics/Eyring Materials Center, Arizona State University)
Wesley Peng
(Dpt of Physics/Eyring Materials Center, Arizona State University)
Thilina Balasooriya
(Dpt of Physics/Eyring Materials Center, Arizona State University)
Mohammed Sahal
(Dpt of Physics/Eyring Materials Center, Arizona State University)
Sukesh Ram
(Dpt of Physics/Eyring Materials Center, Arizona State University)
Robert J Culbertson
(Dpt of Physics/Eyring Materials Center, Arizona State University)
Nicole Herbots
(Dpt of Physics/Eyring Materials Center, Arizona State University)
Semiconductor heterostructures are essential to create highly efficient tandem solar cells. But native oxides and high temperatures can inhibit bonding and limit efficiency.
This work uses Surface Energy Engineering (SEE) of Si and GaAs to modify surfaces and reduce oxides prior to NanoBonding™. SEE is based on characterization of surfaces via Three Liquid Contact Angle Analysis (3LCAA), Ion-Beam Analysis (IBA), and X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS).
3LCAA measures contact angles to calculate total surface energy before and after SEE. Results from 3LCAA reveal that after SEE, GaAs shifts from hydrophobic to super-hydrophilic while Si is the converse. SEE alters both surface energies by a magnitude of two.
IBA combined with Nuclear Resonance and <111> channeling shows that absolute O coverage decreases by 12% ± 3% on Si and 49% ± 4% on GaAs.
XPS quantifies changes in Ga and As oxidation levels. The most significant difference is that of the 20% of As bound oxygen, about 40% is bound as Oxygen-poor As2O3 after SEE, twice as much as before. XPS shows that the Ga:As ratio remains 1:1 before and after etching.
SEE is found to modify surfaces into far-from-equilibrium states that facilitate efficient Nano-Bonding™.
*SiO2 Innovates LLC
AccuAngle Analytics LLC
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