Low-Temperature Annealing of n-Type β-FeSi₂/p-Type Si Heterojunctions

Abstract

β-FeSi2 thin films epitaxially grown on Si(111) were annealed in vacuum at different annealing temperatures. The effects of low-temperature postannealing on the photovoltaic properties of β-FeSi2/Si heterojunctions were investigated. The heterojunctions annealed at 300 °C exhibited an apparent improvement in photovoltaic performance as compared with as-grown heterojunctions. This improvement may be due to Fe atoms, that diffused into the Si substrate during β-FeSi2 film deposition, were gettered by the postannealing process.