The Next Frontier: Electrodeposition for Solar Cell Fabrication

Abstract

Electrodeposition for solar cells is an active area of research and it has been shown to provide improved benefits in several solar technologies. For the silicon solar cell contacts, electrodeposited metal contacts result in 1-2% solar cell efficiency improvement due to a lower processing temperature with better yield than screen printing, improved contact resistance, lower overall resistance, and the ability to fabricate smaller contacts that reflect less sunlight. This film electrodeposited chalcopyrite and kesterite offer very low-cost manufacturing. They can be used with rigid glass or flexible metallic substrates potentially opening up new applications for solar energy.