Fabrication and characterization of thin c-Si solar cells by low cost methods

Abstract

Following the decreasing thickness tendency in PV industry, there have been prepared c-Si solar cells on thin substrates (100 -120 µm) by means of low cost methods, suitable for industrial application like spray coating and screen printing. Commercial and non-commercial doping sources are tested. A special emphasis is made on contamination tracing throughout the entire process by means of XPS and SIMS analysis. CurrentVoltage, spectral response and contact resistance scanning of the cells are presented. Efficiencies of up to 12.2% have been achieved for 4x4 cm cells without antireflective or special passivation technology.