Laser-doped silicon solar cells by Laser Chemical Processing (LCP) exceeding 20% efficiency

Abstract

The introduction of selective emitters underneath the front contacts of solar cells can considerably increase the cell efficiency. Thus, cost-effective fabrication methods for this process step would help to reduce the cost per W <inf xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">p</inf> of silicon solar cells. Laser Chemical Processing (LCP) is based on the waterjet-guided laser (LaserMicroJet®) developed and commercialized by Synova S.A., but uses a chemical jet. This technology is able to perform local diffusions at high speed and accuracy without the need of masking or any high-temperature step of the entire wafer. We present experimental investigations on simple device structures to choose optimal laser parameters for selective emitter formation. These parameters are used to fabricate high-efficiency oxide-passivated LFC solar cells that exceed 20% efficiency.