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Hydrogen Passivation of Defects in Crystalline Silicon Solar Cells

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Abstract

Hydrogen is commonly introduced into silicon solar cells to reduce the deleterious effects of defects and to increase cell efficiency. We have developed strategies by which hydrogen in silicon can be detected by IR spectroscopy with high sensitivity. The introduction of hydrogen into Si by the post-deposition annealing of a hydrogen-rich, SiNx coating has been investigated to determine hydrogen’s concentration and penetration depth. Different hydrogenation processes were studied so that their effectiveness for the passivation of bulk defects could be compared. The best conditions investigated in our experiments yielded a hydrogen concentration near 1015 cm-3 and a diffusion depth consistent with the diffusivity of H found by Van Wieringen and Warmoltz.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Physics, Lehigh University, 18015, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, USA

    M. Stavola, F. Jiang, S. Kleekajai, L. Wen & C. Peng

  2. School of Electrical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, 30332, Atlanta, Georgia, USA

    V. Yelundur & A. Rohatgi

  3. Department of Physics, University of Konstanz, 78457, Konstanz, Germany

    G. Hahn

  4. REC Wafer AS, 3908, Porsgrunn, NO, Norway

    L. Carnel

  5. American Capital Energy, 01863, N. Chelmsford, MA, USA

    J. Kalejs

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  1. M. Stavola
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  2. F. Jiang
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  8. G. Hahn
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  9. L. Carnel
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Stavola, M., Jiang, F., Kleekajai, S. et al. Hydrogen Passivation of Defects in Crystalline Silicon Solar Cells. MRS Online Proceedings Library 1210, 101 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1557/PROC-1210-Q01-01

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