Light-induced degradation of PECVD aluminium oxide passivated silicon solar cells

Light-induced degradation (LID) has been identified to be a critical issue for solar cells processed on boron-doped silicon substrates. Typically, Czochralski-grown silicon (Cz-Si) has been reported to suffer from stronger LID than block-cast multicrystalline silicon (mc-Si) due to higher oxygen concentrations. This work investigates LID under conditions practically relevant under module operation on different cell types. It is shown that aluminium oxide (AlOx) passivated mc-Si solar cells degrade more than a reference aluminium back surface field mc-Si cell and, remarkably, an AlOx passivated Cz-Si solar cell. The defect which is activated by illumination is shown to be doubtful a sole bulk effect while the AlOx passivation might play a certain role. This work may contribute to a re-evaluation of the suitability of boron-doped Cz- and mc-Si for solar cells with very high efficiencies. ((c) 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH &Co. KGaA, Weinheim)