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Fabrication of electrode groove on silicon solar cell by high‐pressure surface discharge
Author(s) -
Hamada Toshiyuki,
Arakawa Shunichi,
Otsubo Masahisa,
Sakoda Tatsuya
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
electronics and communications in japan
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.131
H-Index - 13
eISSN - 1942-9541
pISSN - 1942-9533
DOI - 10.1002/ecj.10305
Subject(s) - materials science , electrode , groove (engineering) , silicon nitride , etching (microfabrication) , silicon , solar cell , fabrication , optoelectronics , layer (electronics) , composite material , metallurgy , chemistry , medicine , alternative medicine , pathology
We propose a low‐cost plasma process technique to fabricate narrower front electrode grooves on a single crystalline silicon solar cell, in which a surface discharge operated at high pressure etches a silicon nitride film 150 nm thick on a silicon layer. Tests showed that the surface discharge could effectively etch the silicon nitride film in a short time; a high etching rate exceeding 3000 nm/min was obtained. Narrow and uniform grooves with a width of less than 70 μm were obtained when the pressure in the chamber, the back electrode length, and the etching time were 152 kPa, 2 mm, and 10 s, respectively. Narrower electrode grooves could be obtained when the back electrode length was short and the pressure was high. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electron Comm Jpn, 94(4): 28–35, 2011; Published online in Wiley Online Library ( wileyonlinelibrary.com ). DOI 10.1002/ecj.10305