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Development of industrial high‐efficiency back‐contact czochralski‐silicon solar cells
Author(s) -
Gee James M.,
Kumar Prabhat,
Howarth James,
Schroeder Todd,
Franklin Jeff,
Dominguez Jason,
Tanner David
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
progress in photovoltaics: research and applications
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.286
H-Index - 131
eISSN - 1099-159X
pISSN - 1062-7995
DOI - 10.1002/pip.1075
Subject(s) - common emitter , silicon , materials science , optoelectronics , solar cell , engineering physics , engineering
Abstract Back‐contact silicon solar cells feature high efficiencies, simpler module assembly, and improved aesthetics. The emitter wrap through (EWT) cell structure is particularly attractive for use with industrial processing (e.g., screen‐printed metallization) and common solar‐grade p‐type Si materials. We report development of a high‐efficiency EWT back‐contact cell using p‐type Cz silicon and only industrial processing techniques such as screen‐printed metallizations, diffusions, and PECVD. An efficiency of 19.0% has been achieved with large area (156‐mm pseudo‐square) cells. Detailed characterization and modeling have been performed to understand the optical and electrical losses, and these results were used to generate a roadmap to improve the efficiency to over 20%. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.