Surface texture of single-crystal silicon oxidized under a thin V$_{2}$O$_{5}$ layer

The process of surface texturing of single-crystal silicon oxidized under a V$_{2}$O$_{5}$ layer is studied. Intense silicon oxidation at the Si–V$_{2}$O$_{5}$ interface begins at a temperature of 903 K which is 200 K below than upon silicon thermal oxidation in an oxygen atmosphere. A silicon dioxide layer 30–50 nm thick with SiO$_2$ inclusions in silicon depth up to 400 nm is formed at the V$_{2}$O$_{5}$–Si interface. The diffusion coefficient of atomic oxygen through the silicon-dioxide layer at 903 K is determined ($D\ge$ 2 $\times$ 10$^{-15}$ cm$^{2}$ $\cdot$ с$^{-1}$). A model of low-temperature silicon oxidation, based on atomic oxygen diffusion from V$_{2}$O$_{5}$ through the SiO$_2$ layer to silicon, and SiO$_{x}$ precipitate formation in silicon is proposed. After removing the V$_{2}$O$_{5}$ and silicon-dioxide layers, texture is formed on the silicon surface, which intensely scatters light in the wavelength range of 300–550 nm and is important in the texturing of the front and rear surfaces of solar cells.