Solar cells and recombination in silicon

In this paper*, the authors studied the temperature dependence of surface recombination - a process where electrons and holes recombine at the surface of solar cells, reducing solar cell efficiency.  To mitigate recombination losses, solar cells were passivated with dielectric layers (silicon oxide (SiO₂) and aluminium oxide (Al_zO₃), which helped to lower surface defects and control carrier populations.

The authors measured surface recombination at different temperatures (25-90^oC) and carrier conditions using an advanced technique that applied external bias voltage.  This method allowed them to separate the contributions of the bulk silicon from the surface, leading to better analysis of the dielectric layers' effectiveness in reducing recombination.  

The findings show that temperature and carrier concentration significantly affect recombination, providing key insights into optimising the passivation quality of these dielectric layers.

This work helps improve the design of next-generation solar cells, making them more efficient under real-world conditions, particularly at higher temperatures typical for solar panels.

*'Determination of temperature - and carrier-dependent surface recombination in silicon', published in RRL Solar.