Long term stability of low temperature deposited Cat-CVD SiN _x thin film against damp-heat stress

Abstract In this paper, we systematically investigated the damp heat (DH) stability of silicon nitride (SiN x ) films formed by catalytic chemical vapor deposition (Cat-CVD) at low substrate temperatures ( T sub ) of 100–137 °C, aiming at application as a gas barrier and anti-reflection layer of perovskite/silicon tandem solar cells. We have found that the optical properties of the SiN x films such as refractive index and reflection of the films were changed only slightly for < 2% after DH test for >500 days. The Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy studies demonstrated that the SiN x films were hardly oxidized under DH test for the sample formed at high T sub . A slight oxidization occurs only in the SiN x film formed at a low T sub of 100 °C after DH test for 274 days. These results indicate the high stability of the Cat-CVD SiN x films and their feasibility for application in the surface coating of solar cells.