Improvement of the electrical characteristics of polycrystalline silicon (polysilicon) contactedn+‐pdiodes after application of a forward bias stressing is reported. The improvement existed for diodes whose emitter‐implanted doses of arsenic were larger than 6×1015cm−2for HF‐dipped devices, and 1×1016cm−2for H2SO4heat‐treated devices. The improvement is believed to be due to the neutralization by arsenic of dangling bonds at polysilicon grain boundaries and at the poly/mono silicon interfaces during the stressing process.