Boron-implanted 3C-SiC for intermediate band solar cells

Abstract

Sublimation-grown 3C-SiC crystals were implanted with 2 atomic percent of boron ions at elevated temperature (400 °C) using multiple energies (100 to 575 keV) with a total dose of 8.5×1016 atoms/cm2. The samples were then annealed at 1400, 1500 and 1600 °C for 1h at each temperature. The buried boron box-like concentration profile can reach ~2×1021 cm-3 in the plateau region. The optical activity of the incorporated boron atoms was deduced from the evolution in absorption and emission spectra, indicating possible pathway for achieving an intermediate band behavior in boron doped 3C-SiC at sufficiently high dopant concentrations.