beta -silicon carbide protective coating and method for fabricating same

摘要

A polycrystalline beta-silicon carbide film or coating and method for forming same on components, such as the top of solar cells, to act as an extremely hard protective surface, and as an anti-reflective coating. This is achieved by DC magnetron co-sputtering of amorphous silicon and carbon to form a SiC thin film onto a surface, such as a solar cell. The thin film is then irradiated by a pulsed energy source, such as an excimer laser, to synthesize the poly- or mu c-SiC film on the surface and produce beta -SiC. While the method of this invention has primary application in solar cell manufacturing, it has application wherever there is a requirement for an extremely hard surface.