Effect of hydrogen plasma passivation on the efficiency of polycrystalline silicon solar cells

The effect of front-side and back-side hydrogen plasma passivation on the efficiency of polycrystalline silicon solar cells is studied. Experiments are performed on clean room processed cells and on solar cells processed by screenprinting techniques. A study has been carried out by varying the temperature, power, time, and pressure of the process. Different plasma conditions have been optimized for solar cells with an oxide-passivated surface and cells with an oxide-free surface. In the case of screenprinted cells, plasma hydrogenation performed before metallization of the front contacts has been found to be more advantageous than plasma hydrogenation performed after front metallization