Thin Pt and Pd silicide Schottky barriers for silicon solar cells

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Abstract
Metal silicide Schottky barriers allow reliable and stable rectifying contacts and can be attractive for silicon solar cells from both an economical and a technological point of view. Electrical properties of Pd2Si and PtSi grown on silicon have been investigated as a function of silicide thickness ranging from 20 to 2000 AA. Thick Pd2Si and PtSi films show resistivity of 43 and 35 mu Omega cm respectively; for thicknesses lower than 100 AA the resistivities increase suggesting a discontinuous structure of the silicide layers. Electrical characteristics and barrier heights of silicide Schottky diodes made on 5 Omega cm n-type silicon are independent of silicide thickness for thicknesses greater than 100 AA, while below this value they are affected by the discontinuity of silicide layers. The photoelectrical response shows a maximum for 150 AA thick PtSi and Pd2Si films.