Hydrogenation of Si from SiN/sub x/:H films: how much hydrogen is really in the Si?

A promising method to introduce H into Si solar cells in order to passivate bulk defects is by the post-deposition annealing of an H-rich, SiN/sub x/ surface layer. It previously has been difficult to characterize the small concentration of H that is introduced by this method. IR spectroscopy has been used together with marker impurities in the Si to determine the concentration and depth of H introduced into Si from an annealed SiN/sub x/ film.