Slow down of the light-induced-degradation in compensated solar-grade multicrystalline silicon

This letter focuses on the kinetics of the light-induced-degradation in multicrystalline silicon, comparing electronic grade and strongly compensated solar-grade materials. In electronic grade material, the results fit well with the models developed for Czochralski grown single-crystals. In contrast, in solar grade material, the light-induced-degradation kinetics are much slower and cannot be described by the existing models. We discuss how the formation of boron-oxygen complexes may be altered by the effects of compensation. (c) 2008 American Institute of Physics.