Degradation and Regeneration Analysis in mc-Si

The performance of mc-Si PERC solar cells can be significantly affected by LeTID. The underlying mechanism causing LeTID is still unknown. This work compares the degradation and regeneration behavior under illumination and elevated temperature of an industrial mc-Si PERC solar cell to differently processed minority charge carrier lifetime samples. A strong degradation and also regeneration can be observed on lifetime level. Degradation and regeneration are strongly influenced by the applied process steps, like gettering, temperature load and surface passivation method. Therefore, lifetime studies offer a valuable possibility to identify further parameters influencing LeTID.