Epitaxial silicon foil solar cells with interdigitated back contacts

ended

The leading technology in the photovoltaic market today is the single junction crystalline silicon (c-Si) solar cell. Since there is little room for further improvement beyond current efficiency records and to reduce material costs, the industry trend in c-Si technology is pushing towards thinner and thinner cells, which are harder to handle without breaking. The aim of this proposal is to realize a solar cell based on ultra-thin (<50 µm) silicon foils with contacts on the back side of the cell. New processing techniques are required in which the foils are bonded to a glass substrate, such that they are never handled free-standing. The goal of this innovative solar cell is to surpass the current state-of-the art efficiencies of thin silicon foil solar cells by using, low-cost and high yield processing.