Improving the performance of crystalline Si solar cell by high-pressure hydrogenation

We report an approach of high-pressure hydrogenation to improve the performance of crystalline Si(c-Si) solar cells.As-received p-type c-Si wafer-based PN junctions were subjected to high-pressure(2.5 MPa) hydrogen atmosphere at 200 ℃,followed by evaporating antireflection layers,passivation layers,and front and rear electrodes.The efficiency of the so prepared c-Si solar cell was found to increase evidently after high-pressure hydrogenation,with a maximal enhancement of 10%.The incorporation of hydrogen by Si solar cells was identified,and hydrogen passivation of dangling bonds in Si was confirmed.Compared to the regular approach of hydrogen plasma passivation,the approach of high-pressure hydrogenation reported here needs no post-hydrogenation treatment,and can be more convenient and efficient to use in improving the performances of the c-Si and other solar cells.