On the electronic improvement of multi‐crystalline silicon via gettering and hydrogenation

Abstract

Abstract The electronic properties of multi‐crystalline silicon must be improved during solar cell fabrication if highly efficient devices are to be made. This work shows how gettering and silicon nitride induced hydrogenation improve three properties: carrier lifetime, interstitial iron concentration, and trap density. Area averaged effective carrier lifetimes less than 10 µs were improved to greater than 60 µs. A tenfold reduction in trap densities was achieved. Photoluminescence images showing the influence processing techniques have on the electronic properties of the silicon are presented. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.