Implications of accelerated B-O complex formation for mitigating LID in Czochralski silicon

A three-state model is used to explore the influence of the accelerated formation of recombination-active defect complexes on the mitigation of light-induced degradation in p-type Czochralski silicon. Defect formation is observed to be a critical factor for the speed at which the defects can be hydrogenated. Defect formation also plays a critical role in determining the effectiveness of hydrogenation at elevated temperatures. It is observed that under conventional conditions, at a processing temperature of 200 °C, approximately 100 s are required to form- and hydrogenate 99% of possible defects. The improved effectiveness of the hydrogenation of light-induced defects at elevated temperatures as recently reported on finished standard screen printed solar cells within 8 s is consistent with a substantial acceleration of defect formation.