Determination of recombination center position from the temperature dependence of minority carrier lifetime in the base region of p-n junction solar cells

The minority carrier lifetime (τ) in the base region of n+-p silicon solar cells has been measured in the temperature range ∼77–400 °K using the open-circuit voltage decay technique. The injection level has been maintained constant in the entire temperature region. Experiment and theory agree in a small temperature region if τn0 (minority carrier lifetime in heavily doped p silicon) is assumed to be temperature independent. However, an excellent fit between experimental and theoretical results is obtained if τn0 is assumed to vary as exp[−(Eτn0/kT)].