Title:	Quantification of LID in Multicrystalline Silicon Wafers
Author(s):	R. Søndenå, A. Ghaderi
Keywords:	Degradation, Light-Soaking, Multicrystalline Silicon
Topic:	WAFER-BASED SILICON SOLAR CELLS AND MATERIALS TECHNOLOGY
Subtopic:	Silicon Feedstock, Crystallisation and Wafering
Event:	29th European Photovoltaic Solar Energy Conference and Exhibition
Session:	2AV.1.44
Pages:	776 - 779
ISBN:	3-936338-34-5
Paper DOI:	10.4229/EUPVSEC20142014-2AV.1.44
Price:	0,00 EUR
Document(s):	paper, poster

Abstract/Summary:

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Light induced degradation occurs in p-type silicon solar cells containing both boron and oxygen. Due to fundamental differences in the solidification processes multicrystalline silicon contains less oxygen than Czochralski silicon. The oxygen content in multicrystalline silicon is still sufficient to cause degradation, although to a lesser extent than in Czochralski silicon. Extended crystal defects such as grain boundaries and dislocations have long been considered the main factors limiting the performance of multicrystalline silicon solar cells. However, as the detrimental effects of these extended crystal defects are reduced due to improvements in the solidification process as well as the feedstock and crucible quality, the effect of boron-oxygen related degradation is expected to be of increasing importance. Grain boundaries and dislocation clusters contribute to considerable spatial variations in minority carrier lifetimes across a wafer. Challenges with separating and quantifying the different lifetime limiting effects in multicrystalline silicon are discussed in this work.