The apparatus is described that has been used to determine the lifetime, the effective recombination velocity, and the diffusion length near the grain boundary in a polycrystalline silicon solar cell. The lifetime has been estimated from rise of the electron‐beam‐induced current after switching on the incident electron beam; the diffusion length and the effective recombination velocity have been determined from the steady‐state electron‐beam‐induced current characteristics. The experimental rise‐time characteristics are compared with theoretical ones.