Observation of metal precipitates at prebreakdown sites in multicrystalline silicon solar cells

Abstract

The local prebreakdown behavior of a damage etched multicrystalline silicon solar cell produced from virgin grade feedstock was characterized. At the position of micrometer-scaled prebreakdown sites, which correlate with recombination active defects found along grain boundaries, micro-x-ray fluorescence mappings revealed the presence of Fe precipitate colonies. These measurements represent direct evidence that transition metal clusters lead to decreased breakdown voltage and cause soft diode breakdown.