Recent results on hydrogen passivation of silicon sheet solar cells

Abstract
Recent experiments have shown that the fill factor degradation of some hydrogen-passivated dendritic web solar cells we reported earlier [Y. S. Tsuo and J. B. Milstein, Appl. Phys. Lett. 45, 971 (1984)] is caused mainly by thin (less than 7 μm), damaged, front metal grids. A comparison of spectral response data for unpassivated and passivated cells shows that improvements occur mainly in the longer wavelength region, which indicates that bulk properties are enhanced by hydrogen passivation. We have also examined the stability of hydrogen-passivated dendritic web solar cells over a three month period under outdoor test conditions and have not found any degradation. Electron-beam-induced current data have been obtained that show the hydrogen passivation of dislocations as well as grain boundaries in edge-supported-pulling silicon sheet solar cells.