Measurement of metal induced recombination in solar cells

Abstract

Metal induced recombination is a significant loss mechanism in standard and especially in high efficiency solar cells. It is usually measured by making solar cells with different metal contact areas, and inferring the metal induced recombination rate from the change in open circuit voltage. There are many errors which can occur if the test structure is not designed correctly - a small finger spacing should be used, with variable finger width to change the contact area.