This paper presents the results of a study of the incorporation of boron into silicon layers grown from a tin melt by liquid phase epitaxy. Boron was added to the melt through the use of boron-doped silicon source wafers. There is a large discrepancy between the amount of boron incorporated into the epitaxial layer and that available in the source wafer. This mismatch is explained by the gradual removal of boron from our system, most likely as a result of boron precipitation in the tin melt. This situation allows for control of the boron profile by adjusting the cooling rate and adding a dwell time. In this way, we have grown an epitaxial layer with an abrupt and highly doped p-type region at the epitaxial layer/substrate interface. This is useful for thin film solar cell applications as it allows the growth of a back surface field and a lightly doped bulk in a single growth step. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.