Lowering firing temperature of a p-type passivated emitter rear contact Si solar cell via current injection

Dongjin Choi, Hyun Jung Park, Soohyun Bae, Seung Hyun Shin, Hyebin Han, Bernhard Klöter, Donghwan Kim, Hae Seok Lee, Yoon Mook Kang

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    5 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    Effective contact formation during low-temperature firing with applied current was investigated in this study. The screen-printed electrode was fired using rapid thermal annealing and contacted by etching the passivation layer and forming Ag crystallites. In our previous study, we proposed a method for reducing this contact resistance from 5 to 1 mΩ cm2 by applying a current during the firing of a phosphorous-doped (P-doped) n+ emitter in a p-type Si wafer without a silicon nitride (SiNx) passivation layer. According to the results, current application during the firing of Si solar cells should reduce the required firing temperature. Herein, a current (3 A) was applied between the screen-printed electrode and P-doped n+ emitter in a p-type Si wafer with an SiNx passivation layer during low-temperature firing from 350 to 600 °C. The major effects of the proposed methods were a reduced contact resistance and enhanced of SiNx etching. Cross-sectional scanning electron microscopy images at different firing temperatures demonstrated that current injection during firing promoted the etching of the SiNx layer. Additionally, the method of current injection with low-temperature firing proposed in this work resulted in a device with a solar cell efficiency of 19.0%, which is similar to the efficiency of a reference cell fired at a higher temperature.

    Original languageEnglish
    Article number111587
    JournalSolar Energy Materials and Solar Cells
    Volume239
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 2022 Jun 1

    Bibliographical note

    Funding Information:
    This research was supported by the New & Renewable Energy Core Technology Program of the Korea Institute of Energy Technology Evaluation and Planning (KETEP) and supported by the Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Energy of the Republic of Korea (No. 20188550000450 ). This work was supported by “Human Resources Program in Energy Technology” of the Korea Institute of Energy Technology Evaluation and Planning (KETEP) , granted financial resource from the Ministry of Trade, Industry & Energy, Republic of Korea (No. 20204010600470 ).

    Publisher Copyright:
    © 2022

    Keywords

    • Current injection
    • Low-temperature
    • Metallization
    • Screen-printed Ag contact
    • Silicon solar cells

    ASJC Scopus subject areas

    • Electronic, Optical and Magnetic Materials
    • Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment
    • Surfaces, Coatings and Films

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