Development of 25% Efficient Double Side Screen Printed Poly-Si/SiOx Passivated Contact Solar cells

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Very few silicon (Si) photovoltaic (PV) cell structures can achieve an energy conversion efficiency higher than 25% at a lower cost than passivated emitter and rear contact (PERC). One promising candidate to surpass PERC is tunnel Oxide Passivated poly-Si SiOx contacts (TOPCon), but currently these contacts can only be used on the back side of Si PV cells rather than both sides. This is because the TOPCon layer absorbs some sunlight before it reaches the active PV material, which decreases the cell's efficiency. It is also expensive to screen-print TOPCon layers on very thin poly-Si layers. Recently, the project team succeeded in making a double-sided, screen-printed TOPCon Si PV cell with efficiencies higher than 22%. The team will use these methods to screen-print TOPCon layers on thin poly-Si layers. They will also improve the TOPCon layer itself by decreasing charge recombination and incorporating oxygen to expand its bandgap, which will reduce the amount of sunlight it absorbs. If successful, the team will produce a low-cost, commercial-ready 24.5% efficient Si PV cell with double-side screen-printed TOPCon layers.

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