Towards a High Throughput Solution for Boron-oxygen Related Regeneration

Boron-oxygen related defects are a serious problem limiting the efficiency of solar cells based on boron-doped silicon. But even though the regeneration (a.k.a. permanent deactivation) of BO-related defects was introduced in 2006, it is still limited mainly to laboratory use and almost always illumination is used to induce the regeneration process. In this contribution external biasing/current injection is used to trigger the regeneration effect. The regeneration process itself is carried out in a stack of solar cells optionally separated by conductive spacers. In this configuration a multitude of solar cells can be treated simultaneously. In addition to inducing the regeneration process the external biasing brings along electrical losses and thus heats up the stack. This selfheating can be used to reach and/or hold the temperature required for the regeneration process. For high current densities an active regulation of temperature is necessary. The working principle could be successfully proven.