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Hydrogenation of Multicrystalline Si-Materials for Solar Cells: Discrimination Between Effects in the Intra-Grain and Grain Boundary Regions

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 February 2011

J. Poortmans
Affiliation:
IMEC, Kapeldreef, 75 B-3001, Belgium
M. Rosmeulen
Affiliation:
IMEC, Kapeldreef, 75 B-3001, Belgium
A. Kaniava
Affiliation:
Vilnius University, Sauletekio 10, 2054 Vilnius, Lithuania
J. Vanhellemont
Affiliation:
IMEC, Kapeldreef, 75 B-3001, Belgium
H. Elgamel
Affiliation:
IMEC, Kapeldreef, 75 B-3001, Belgium
J. Nijs
Affiliation:
IMEC, Kapeldreef, 75 B-3001, Belgium
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Abstract

In this paper we describe the results of a study on the hydrogenation treatment of multicrystalline substrates by an RF-plasma with emphasis on discriminating between effects on the intra-grain material and grain boundary regions. For this purpose small mesa-type diodes were processed. Two types of multicrystalline material are being compared in this study. The main difference between these materials is their oxygen and metallic impurity content. The effects of the hydrogenation treatment were studied by means of I-V and DLTS-measurements. Finally, we will present data on small multicrystalline solar cells and the effect of hydrogenation on the main parameters of this device to illustrate the correlation and the differences between the measurements on small-scale diodes and the effects on the macroscopic device which is the solar cell.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 1995

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