Surface morphological and optoelectrical characteristics of silicon nitride featured with magnesium oxide nano coating

Gopal Kaliyaperumal; Nagabhooshanam Nagarajan; Prahalad Singh Parihar; Nilesh Bhosle; Supriya Subrahmanian; Vadali Surya Narayana Kumar; Ramya Maranan; Rajendran Srinivasan; Subbarayan Sathiyamurthy

doi:10.1515/pac-2025-0595

Article

Surface morphological and optoelectrical characteristics of silicon nitride featured with magnesium oxide nano coating

Gopal Kaliyaperumal , Nagabhooshanam Nagarajan , Prahalad Singh Parihar , Nilesh Bhosle , Supriya Subrahmanian , Vadali Surya Narayana Kumar , Ramya Maranan , Rajendran Srinivasan and Subbarayan Sathiyamurthy

Published/Copyright: December 16, 2025

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From the journal Pure and Applied Chemistry

Abstract

The silicon nitride (Si₃N₄) solar cell is well-known for its use in solar energy applications due to its passivation properties, which minimize surface recombination, improve thermal stability, and enhance chemical resistance. However, Si₃N₄ is found to increase processing complexity due to uneven particle dispersion, and a higher concentration of Si₃N₄ leads to microcracks in areas of high stress concentration, which limit the optoelectrical properties. This research aims to overcome processing difficulties and to enrich the functional characteristics of Si₃N₄ solar cells with 20, 30, and 40 nm of magnesium oxide (MgO) nanocoating via a vacuum-assisted chemical vapour deposition (CVD) process. The effects of MgO and vacuum on the surface morphology during the CVD process were analyzed, revealing a fine-grain structure without microcracks, resulting in enhanced optoelectrical properties compared to those of the monolithic Si₃N₄ solar cell. Likewise, X-ray diffraction analysis confirms the presence of MgO in Si₃N₄ and its crystalline size. Furthermore, the Si₃N₄ layer with 40 nm MgO is found to have an optimum drain current density of 2.8 × 10⁻³ A, an improved photocurrent density of 2.6 mA/cm², a reduced transmittance of 58 %, and a superior solar conversion efficiency of 24.1 %. It is suitable for thin-film solar cell applications.

Keywords: magnesium oxide; optoelectrical properties; silicon nitride; solar; surface morphological

Corresponding author: Rajendran Srinivasan, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Saveetha School of Engineering, Saveetha Institute of Medical and Technical Sciences, SIMATS, Chennai, 602105, Tamil Nadu, India, e-mail: srinivasansimats@gmail.com

Research ethics: Not applicable.
Informed consent: Not applicable.
Author contributions: All authors have accepted responsibility for the entire content of this manuscript and approved its submission.
Use of Large Language Models, AI and Machine Learning Tools: None declared.
Conflict of interest: The authors state no conflict of interest.
Research funding: None declared.
Data availability: Not applicable.

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Received: 2025-08-22

Accepted: 2025-12-02

Published Online: 2025-12-16

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https://doi.org/10.1515/pac-2025-0595

Keywords for this article

magnesium oxide; optoelectrical properties; silicon nitride; solar; surface morphological