Low temperature hydrogen diffusion in silicon: Influence of substrate quality and the surface damage

Hydrogen passivation of defects and impurities is becoming a necessary step for achieving high efficiency solar cells on materials from some photovoltaic (PV) vendors[1,2]. Even though hydrogen passivation is a common technology, relatively little is known on the diffusion and passivation mechanisms of hydrogen in silicon. For example, it is not known why solar cells fabricated on the material from some vendors improve considerably more than others. Vendors who utilize this passivation may see a 20% increase in the cell performance, making it a remarkable process for those who benefit. There are other intriguing observations, the degree of passivation for solar cells fabricated on the material from the same vendor vary with the hydrogenation technique. Likewise, if the growth parameters of the material are changed, the degree of passivation can also change.