New methods of measuring photoelectric parameters of silicon

Members of group:

Research activity:

In the last years we have developed new methods of measurement of the photoelectric parameters of silicon wafers used for solar cell fabrication. The methods are based on compensation of the a.c. photovoltage, and are used to determine the diffusion length and the minority charge lifetime in the substrate.
One of the methods permits to determine the photoelectric parameters of wafer without conductive electrodes. In particular, it can be used for wafers packed in hermetically sealed polyethylene parcels. This allows to avoid its contamination during the measurements. The method can also be used to test the diffusion length in the wafers at intermediate stages of fabrication of solar cells and other semiconductor devices. This enables to reject nonconditional wafers in the process of fabrication and thus decrease the cost of the device. The method can be easily automatized.
The methods were tested on silicon solar cells irradiated by fast particles.

Selected publications:


Physics of Semiconductors division