Cell Processing

This paper presents an in-depth analysis of state-of-the-art p-type monocrystalline Czochralski-grown silicon passivated emitter and rear cells (PERCs) fabricated in a near-industrial manner. PERC solar cells feature a homogeneous emitter on the front side, and an Al2O3 passivation layer and local contacts on the rear side.

A highly promising concept for future solar cells is the heterojunction (HJT) architecture; according to the ITRPV roadmap 2016, the market share for HJT solar cells will increase to 10% by 2026. Over this timescale, stabilized cell efficiency will increase to 24%, which is the second-highest predicted efficiency after backcontact cells with n-type mono-Si. Moreover, metallization of HJT cells offers the advantage of using low-temperature steps, which reduces energy consumption and hence production costs.

This paper presents the fabrication of front-junction n-type silicon solar cells with Cu-plated electrodes, using laser contact opening and forward-bias plating. The cells feature a back-surface field formed by a phosphorus implant, and a diffused boron emitter with aluminium oxide passivation. Laser ablation of the front-side dielectric layers is followed by a metallization based on Ni/Cu forward-bias plating, while sintered metal paste is used for the rear electrode. The results show improved line conductivity and contact resistivity for the plated electrode, leading to higher solar cell efficiency than for cells made with conventional Ag/Al paste. On 6" n-type Czochralski wafers, cell efficiencies of up to 21.3% have been demonstrated, with an open-circuit voltage of 654mV, a short-circuit current of 40.8mA/cm2 and a fill factor of 79.8%.

Producing one multicrystalline silicon solar module per second does not suggest that the technology is about to disappear, based on the headline presentation at the first day of the inaugural PV CellTech conference in Malaysia.

R&D activities related to solar cell production technology generally aim for higher cell efficiencies and lower production costs in order to decrease the levelized cost of electricity (LCOE). Today the passivated emitter and rear cell (PERC) is poised to become the preferred state-of-the-art cell architecture. ‘FolMet’ technology – a new metallization and contacting upgrade – therefore has particular relevance to PERC gains.

This paper presents the progress made by ECN and Tempress in developing and integrating the processing of polysilicon passivating contacts aimed at use in low-cost industrial cell production.

The passivated emitter and rear cell (PERC) process has been successfully transferred to mass production, with the market share of multicrystalline (mc) silicon being around 50%. This new technology can, however, lead to severe reliability issues despite the higher initial solar cell efficiencies. In particular, light-induced degradation (LID) of mc-PERC solar cells has been reported to cause efficiency losses of up to 10%rel. This highlights the importance of understanding different types of LID and of testing the stability of solar cells under actual operating conditions.

Passivated emitter rear contact (PERC) production is forecast to exceed 15GW in 2017, accounting for more than 20% of all p-type solar cells produced in the year. PERC has become the first major application for lasers in the mainstream c-Si cell sector in the solar industry, with all other applications either legacy/dormant or as part of process flows that may reside permanently in the research lab or at best make it into production, several years from now.

This paper examines the use of stencil printing instead of screen printing in order to achieve improved fine line print quality for greater efficiency. In addition, a comparison of polymer and metal squeegees on fine line print performance is analyzed, with varying line apertures studied to understand the impact on the efficiency of PERC solar cells.

Light-induced degradation (LID) in both Czochralski (Cz) and multicrystalline p-type silicon is one of the biggest challenges currently faced by the PV industry. Over the next few years it will be necessary to develop cost-effective solutions and integrate them into manufacturing lines. This is particularly important for the successful adoption of the passivated emitter rear cell (PERC), since this cell architecture has been shown to be highly susceptible to degradation.