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Reactions of H with C in Multicrystalline Si Solar-cell Materials

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 February 2011

Chao Peng ,
Michael Stravola ,
Haoxiang Zhang ,
Vijay Yelundur ,
Ajeet Rohatgi ,
Lode Carnel ,
Mike Seacrist  and
Juris Kalejs
Chao Peng
Affiliation:
chp205@Lehigh.edu, United States
Michael Stravola
Affiliation:
mjsa@scholarone.com, Lehigh University, Physics, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, United States
Haoxiang Zhang
Affiliation:
haz207@Lehigh.edu, Lehigh University, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, United States
Vijay Yelundur
Affiliation:
vyelundur@suniva.com, Georgia Institute of Technology, School of Electrical Engineering, Atlanta, Georgia, United States
Ajeet Rohatgi
Affiliation:
ajeet.rohatgi@ece.gatech.edu, United States
Lode Carnel
Affiliation:
Lode.Carnel@recgroup.com, REC Wafer AS, Porsgrunn, Norway
Mike Seacrist
Affiliation:
mseacrist@memc.com, MEMC Electronic Materials, St. Peters, Missouri, United States
Juris Kalejs
Affiliation:
jpkalejs1@aol.com, American Solar Technologies, 15 Tyngsboro Road, North Chelmsford, Massachusetts, 01863, United States, 978-251-3096, 978-251-4120
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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. When hydrogen is introduced into multicrystalline Si that is often used for the fabrication of solar cells, the H atoms become trapped by carbon impurities to produce defect structures known at H2*(C). These defects act as both a source and a sink for hydrogen in H-related defect reactions. IR spectroscopy has been used to determine what H- and C-related defects are formed in multicrystalline Si when the carbon concentration is varied. A process that is used by industry to introduce hydrogen into Si solar cells is the post-deposition annealing of a hydrogen-rich SiNx layer. The H2*(C) defects provide a strategy for estimating the concentration and penetration depth of the hydrogen that is introduced by this method.

Keywords

photovoltaicHSi
Type
Research Article
Information
MRS Online Proceedings Library (OPL) , Volume 1268: Symposium EE – Defects in Inorganic Photovoltaic Materials , 2010 , 1268-EE02-02
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2010

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