Determination of the Magnitude and Centroid of the Charge in a Thin-film Insulator by C-V and Kelvin Probe Measurements

This paper describes how capacitance–voltage (C-V) and Kelvin probe (KP) measurements can be combined to determine the magnitude and centroid of the electric charge in a thin-film insulator. The technique is demonstrated on three films of relevance to silicon solar cells: aluminium oxide, amorphous silicon nitride and silicon dioxide. Since the charge within these films is of different magnitudes, locations and polarity, they offer a good selection with which to demonstrate the combined C-V and KP technique. © 2011 Published by Elsevier Ltd. Selection and/or peer-review under responsibility of Solar Energy Research Institute of Singapore (SERIS) – National University of Singapore (NUS).