this report addresses several issues of interest for the design and fabrication of silicon solar cells. the report begins with a theoretical study concerning the necessity for using more complex mobility models in order to accurately describe the operation of concentrator solar cells. the report then details a modeling and experimental study of recombination under high-level-injection conditions in order to more precisely understand this effect, which will limit cell performance. becoming more technological, the next section studies the trade-offs between light-trapping and minimization of surface recombination for a variety of texturization schedules. finally, a study on minimizing surface recombination by optimizing the oxidation parameters is given. the overall utility of the information presented in this document is twofold. first, the mobility, recombination and texturization studies are relevant to improved modeling, prediction, and cell design. second, the experimental techniques and results are carefully described in order to be useful in the process design and technological optimization of silicon solar cells. 52 refs., 23 figs., 5 tabs. (era citation 13: 046495)