Phosphorus and aluminum gettering-investigation of synergistic effects in single-crystal and multicrystalline silicon [solar cells]

Synergistic effects from simultaneous phosphorus diffusion/aluminum-alloy gettering are investigated in three different crystalline-silicon substrate solar cells. The silicon materials, experimental design, characterization and analysis are presented. Some evidence for synergism is observed in the finished solar cells on all three substrate types. These results are combined with complementary observations of the effects of oxidation on bulk properties of previously gettered substrates to suggest a high-volume, low-cost process implementation which could give up to 9% relative increase in solar cell efficiency.