We propose the use of annealed phosphorus doped amorphous silicon carbide layers (a-SiC:H(n)) deposited by PECVD as emitters in solar cells and explore the effect of the annealing time on the emitter saturation current density (J(OC)). We use the quasy-steady state photoconductance method to determine the dependence of effective lifetime on excess carrier density and from these measurements we obtain J(OC) values in the range of 300 fA cm(-2) for sheet resistances around 100 Omega/sq. Finally, we obtain effective surface recombination velocity values around 10(4) cm s(-1) by fitting the measured J(OC) values with PC1D simulated ones. (c) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.