Efficiency improved by H₂ forming gas treatment for Si-based solar cell applications

The photovoltaic (PV) effects have been investigated and improved using efficient treatments both on single-crystalline (sc) and on multicrystalline (mc) silicon (Si) solar cells. The major effect of forming gas (FG) treatment on solar cell performance is the fill-factor values, which increase 3.75% and 8.28%, respectively, on sc-Si and mc-Si solar cells. As for the optimal 15%- H₂ ratio and 40-minute FG treatment, the conversion efficiency (η) values drastically increase to 14.89% and 14.31%, respectively, for sc- and mc-Si solar cells. Moreover, we can measure the internal quantum efficiency (IQE) values increase with H₂ -FG treatment under visible wavelength (400~900 nm) radiation. Thus based on the work in this research, we confirm that H₂ passivation has become crucial both in PV as well as in microelectronics fields. Moreover, the developed mc-Si solar cell by proper H₂ FG treatment is quite suitable for commercial applications.