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Title: Solubility and Diffusivity: Important Metrics in the Search for the Root Cause of Light- and Elevated Temperature-Induced Degradation

Abstract

Light- and elevated temperature-induced degradation (LeTID) is a detrimental effect observed under operating conditions in p-type multicrystalline silicon (mc-Si) solar cells. In this paper, we employ synchrotron-based techniques to study the dissolution of precipitates due to different firing processes at grain boundaries in LeTID-affected mc-Si. The synchrotron measurements show clear dissolution of collocated metal precipitates during firing. We compare our observations with degradation behavior in the same wafers. The experimental results are complemented with process simulations to provide insight into the change in bulk point defect concentration due to firing. Several studies have proposed that LeTID is caused by metal-rich precipitate dissolution during contact firing, and we find that the solubility and diffusivity are promising screening metrics to identify metals that are compatible with this hypothesis. While slower and less soluble elements (e.g., Fe and Cr) are not compatible according to our simulations, the point defect concentrations of faster and more soluble elements (e.g., Cu and Ni) increase after a high-temperature firing process, primarily due to emitter segregation rather than precipitate dissolution. Finally, these results are a useful complement to lifetime spectroscopy techniques, and can be used to evaluate additional candidates in the search for the root cause of LeTID.

Authors:
ORCiD logo [1]; ORCiD logo [1];  [2]; ORCiD logo [2]; ORCiD logo [3];  [4];  [4]; ORCiD logo [1];  [1];  [1]; ORCiD logo [1];  [1];  [1];  [3];  [2]; ORCiD logo [1]
+ Show Author Affiliations
  1. Massachusetts Inst. of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, MA (United States)
  2. Solar Energy Research Inst. of Singapore (Singapore)
  3. Aalto Univ., Espoo (Finland). Dept. of Electronics and Nanoengineering
  4. Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States)
Publication Date:
Research Org.:
Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States); Massachusetts Inst. of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, MA (United States); Aalto Univ., Espoo (Finland)
Sponsoring Org.:
USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES); National Science Foundation (NSF); European Research Council (ERC)
OSTI Identifier:
1437374
Grant/Contract Number:  
AC02-06CH11357; ECS-0335765; CA EEC-1041895; 1122374; 307315
Resource Type:
Accepted Manuscript
Journal Name:
IEEE Journal of Photovoltaics
Additional Journal Information:
Journal Volume: 8; Journal Issue: 2; Journal ID: ISSN 2156-3381
Publisher:
IEEE
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
14 SOLAR ENERGY; carrier-induced degradation (CID); light- and elevated temperature-induced degradation (LeTID); light-induced degradation; materials reliability; multicrystalline silicon (mc-Si); passivated emitter and rear cell (PERC); synchrotron; silicon; X-ray fluorescence

Citation Formats

Jensen, Mallory A., Morishige, Ashley E., Chakraborty, Sagnik, Sharma, Romika, Laine, Hannu S., Lai, Barry, Rose, Volker, Youssef, Amanda, Looney, Erin E., Wieghold, Sarah, Poindexter, Jeremy R., Correa-Baena, Juan-Pablo, Felisca, Tahina, Savin, Hele, Li, Joel B., and Buonassisi, Tonio. Solubility and Diffusivity: Important Metrics in the Search for the Root Cause of Light- and Elevated Temperature-Induced Degradation. United States: N. p., 2018. Web. doi:10.1109/jphotov.2018.2791411.
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Jensen, Mallory A., Morishige, Ashley E., Chakraborty, Sagnik, Sharma, Romika, Laine, Hannu S., Lai, Barry, Rose, Volker, Youssef, Amanda, Looney, Erin E., Wieghold, Sarah, Poindexter, Jeremy R., Correa-Baena, Juan-Pablo, Felisca, Tahina, Savin, Hele, Li, Joel B., & Buonassisi, Tonio. Solubility and Diffusivity: Important Metrics in the Search for the Root Cause of Light- and Elevated Temperature-Induced Degradation. United States. https://doi.org/10.1109/jphotov.2018.2791411
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Jensen, Mallory A., Morishige, Ashley E., Chakraborty, Sagnik, Sharma, Romika, Laine, Hannu S., Lai, Barry, Rose, Volker, Youssef, Amanda, Looney, Erin E., Wieghold, Sarah, Poindexter, Jeremy R., Correa-Baena, Juan-Pablo, Felisca, Tahina, Savin, Hele, Li, Joel B., and Buonassisi, Tonio. Fri . "Solubility and Diffusivity: Important Metrics in the Search for the Root Cause of Light- and Elevated Temperature-Induced Degradation". United States. https://doi.org/10.1109/jphotov.2018.2791411. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1437374.
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@article{osti_1437374,
title = {Solubility and Diffusivity: Important Metrics in the Search for the Root Cause of Light- and Elevated Temperature-Induced Degradation},
author = {Jensen, Mallory A. and Morishige, Ashley E. and Chakraborty, Sagnik and Sharma, Romika and Laine, Hannu S. and Lai, Barry and Rose, Volker and Youssef, Amanda and Looney, Erin E. and Wieghold, Sarah and Poindexter, Jeremy R. and Correa-Baena, Juan-Pablo and Felisca, Tahina and Savin, Hele and Li, Joel B. and Buonassisi, Tonio},
abstractNote = {Light- and elevated temperature-induced degradation (LeTID) is a detrimental effect observed under operating conditions in p-type multicrystalline silicon (mc-Si) solar cells. In this paper, we employ synchrotron-based techniques to study the dissolution of precipitates due to different firing processes at grain boundaries in LeTID-affected mc-Si. The synchrotron measurements show clear dissolution of collocated metal precipitates during firing. We compare our observations with degradation behavior in the same wafers. The experimental results are complemented with process simulations to provide insight into the change in bulk point defect concentration due to firing. Several studies have proposed that LeTID is caused by metal-rich precipitate dissolution during contact firing, and we find that the solubility and diffusivity are promising screening metrics to identify metals that are compatible with this hypothesis. While slower and less soluble elements (e.g., Fe and Cr) are not compatible according to our simulations, the point defect concentrations of faster and more soluble elements (e.g., Cu and Ni) increase after a high-temperature firing process, primarily due to emitter segregation rather than precipitate dissolution. Finally, these results are a useful complement to lifetime spectroscopy techniques, and can be used to evaluate additional candidates in the search for the root cause of LeTID.},
doi = {10.1109/jphotov.2018.2791411},
journal = {IEEE Journal of Photovoltaics},
number = 2,
volume = 8,
place = {United States},
year = {Fri Feb 02 00:00:00 EST 2018},
month = {Fri Feb 02 00:00:00 EST 2018}
}
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Journal Article:
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https://doi.org/10.1109/jphotov.2018.2791411
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Cited by: 23 works
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Figures / Tables:

Fig. 1 Fig. 1: Set of six sister wafers is subjected to various solar cell process steps and characterization techniques (left). PDG and high- and low-temperature firing time– temperature profiles are plotted (right).
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Works referencing / citing this record:

Rapid thermal anneal activates light induced degradation due to copper redistribution
journal, July 2018

  • Nampalli, N.; Laine, H. S.; Colwell, J.
  • Applied Physics Letters, Vol. 113, Issue 3
  • DOI: 10.1063/1.5029347

Evaluating root cause: The distinct roles of hydrogen and firing in activating light- and elevated temperature-induced degradation
journal, August 2018

  • Jensen, M. A.; Zuschlag, A.; Wieghold, S.
  • Journal of Applied Physics, Vol. 124, Issue 8
  • DOI: 10.1063/1.5041756

Vertically integrated modeling of light-induced defects: Process modeling, degradation kinetics and device impact
conference, January 2018

  • Laine, Hannu S.; Vahlman, Henri; Haarahiltunen, Antti
  • SILICONPV 2018, THE 8TH INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON CRYSTALLINE SILICON PHOTOVOLTAICS, AIP Conference Proceedings
  • DOI: 10.1063/1.5049255

Evolution of the light sensitive defects in high performance multicrystalline silicon wafers
journal, February 2019

  • Søndenå, Rune; Wiig, Marie Syre
  • Journal of Applied Physics, Vol. 125, Issue 8
  • DOI: 10.1063/1.5079496

Evolution of defect densities with height in a HPMC-Si ingot
conference, January 2019

  • Søndenå, Rune; Haug, Halvard; You, Chang Chuan
  • 15th International Conference on Concentrator Photovoltaic Systems (CPV-15), AIP Conference Proceedings
  • DOI: 10.1063/1.5123897

The Impact of Thermal Treatment on Light-Induced Degradation of Multicrystalline Silicon PERC Solar Cell
journal, January 2019

  • Zhang, Shude; Peng, Jiaqi; Qian, Hongqiang
  • Energies, Vol. 12, Issue 3
  • DOI: 10.3390/en12030416

Evaluating root cause: the distinct roles of hydrogen and firing in activating light- and elevated-temperature induced degradation
conference, June 2018

  • Jensen, Mallory; Zuschlag, Annika; Skorka, Daniel
  • 2018 IEEE 7th World Conference on Photovoltaic Energy Conversion (WCPEC) (A Joint Conference of 45th IEEE PVSC, 28th PVSEC & 34th EU PVSEC)
  • DOI: 10.1109/pvsc.2018.8547860
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    Figures / Tables found in this record:

    Fig. 1 (p. 14)figure
    Fig. 2 (p. 14)figure
    Fig. 3 (p. 15)figure
    Fig. 4 (p. 16)figure
    Fig. 5 (p. 16)figure
    TABLE I (p. 16)table
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