We have investigated a pin-type protocrystalline silicon (pc-Si:H) multilayer solar cell fabricated by employing a silicon-carbide double p-layer structure and a layered structure of multilayer processing through alternate H, dilution. The initial conversion efficiency is drastically improved by incorporating a hydrogen-diluted boron-doped amorphous silicon-carbide (p-a-SICA) buffer layer at the p/i interface. Remarkably, the pc-Si:H multilayer absorber exhibits superior light-induced metastability to a conventional amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) absorber. Therefore, we have successfully achieved a highly stabilized efficiency of 9.0% without using any back reflector. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.