Investigation of unusual shunting behavior due to phototransistor effect in n-type aluminum-alloyed rear junction solar cells

Sugianto, Adeline; Tjahjono, Budi; Mai, Linh; Wenham, Stuart

doi:10.1016/j.solmat.2009.07.018

Cited by 16 publications

(27 citation statements)

References 7 publications

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“…Also the effect reported in Ref. 75 was finally attributed to a high−resistive area [78]. The effect described in Ref.…”

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confidence: 74%

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Understanding the current-voltage characteristics of industrial crystalline silicon solar cells by considering inhomogeneous current distributions

Breitenstein

2013

Opto-Electronics Review

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Solar cells made from multi- or mono-crystalline silicon wafers are the base of today’s photovoltaics industry. These devices are essentially large-area semiconductor p-n junctions. Technically, solar cells have a relatively simple structure, and the theory of p-n junctions was established already decades ago. The generally accepted model for describing them is the so-called two-diode model. However, the current-voltage characteristics of industrial solar cells, particularly of that made from multi-crystalline silicon material, show significant deviations from established diode theory. These deviations regard the forward and the reverse dark characteristics as well as the relation between the illuminated characteristics to the dark ones. In the recent years it has been found that the characteristics of industrial solar cells can only be understood by taking into account local inhomogeneities of the dark current flow. Such inhomogeneities can be investigated by applying lock-in thermography techniques. Based on these and other investigations, meanwhile the basic properties of industrial silicon solar cells are well understood. This contribution reviews the most important experimental results leading to the present state of physical understanding of the dark and illuminated characteristics of multi-crystalline industrial solar cells. This analysis should be helpful for the continuing process of optimizing such cells for further increasing their energy conversion efficiency.

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“…Also the effect reported in Ref. 75 was finally attributed to a high−resistive area [78]. The effect described in Ref.…”

mentioning

confidence: 74%

“…It has been reported sometimes that the parallel resistance R p of a solar cell depends on the illumination intensity [75]. If the parallel resistance is measured as the inverse of the slope of the dark or illuminated characteristics at 0 V (which is ac− tually wrong even for homogeneous cells, see discussion of Eq.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Understanding the current-voltage characteristics of industrial crystalline silicon solar cells by considering inhomogeneous current distributions

Breitenstein

2013

Opto-Electronics Review

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“…This effect, like departure 2 described by Robinson et al (1994), is proportional to the illumination intensity and vanishes for low intensity or in the dark. Also the effect reported in Sugianto et al (2009) was finally attributed to a high-resistive area (Sugianto et al, 2012). The effect described in Khan et al (2010) may be due to the fact that, in this work, only the 1-diode model according to Eq.…”

Section: Relation Between Dark and Illuminated Characteristicsmentioning

confidence: 72%

“…It has been reported sometimes that the parallel resistance R p of a solar cell depends on the illumination intensity (Sugianto et al, 2009). If the parallel resistance is measured as the inverse of the slope of the dark or illuminated characteristic at 0 V (which is actually wrong even for homogeneous cells, see discussion of Eq.…”

Section: Relation Between Dark and Illuminated Characteristicsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Physics of Industrial Crystalline Silicon Solar Cells

Breitenstein¹

2013

Semiconductors and Semimetals

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“…Although laser ablation requires less processing steps and is able to produce very fine lines, the laser parameters need to be tightly controlled to ensure the ARC layer is ablated without melting the underlying silicon and damaging the shallow emitter layer [6,7]. Both of these patterning techniques require optimization for use on both mono-Si and poly-Si substrates.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Compatibility of the alternative seed layer (ASL) process with mono-Si and poly-Si substrates patterned by laser or wet etching

Michaelson¹,

Nguyen

Munoz³

et al. 2011

2011 37th IEEE Photovoltaic Specialists Conference

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An alternative seed layer (ASL) process is proposed in order to increase the efficiency of silicon solar cells by forming a low cost, front metal contact with reduced contact resistance and increased line conductivity and aspect ratio. A nickel seed layer is deposited directly on silicon to form a low resistivity nickel silicide (NiSi) ohmic contact and this contact is thickened by light induced plating (LIP) of nickel and copper. Unlike the traditional screen printing process currently used in industry, the ARC layer must be patterned to expose the silicon surface for nickel deposition.This paper investigates the compatibility of the ASL process with two different ARC patterning methods: 1) masking & wet chemical etching, and 2) laser ablation. In addition, the ASL process is demonstrated on both mono-crystalline and polycrystalline silicon substrates with ARC layers from different sources. The nickel seed layer and resulting NiSi layer are evaluated using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) with energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (EDS) and focused ion beam (FIB) cross section.X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) is used to investigate the completeness of the ARC removal step. In addition, contact resistance testing will be performed to determine the quality of the ohmic contact formed from the ASL process. The importance of chemistry optimization in the development of a robust ASL process that is compatible with mono-Si and poly-Si substrates and exposed to two different ARC patterning methods will be discussed.

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Investigation of unusual shunting behavior due to phototransistor effect in n-type aluminum-alloyed rear junction solar cells

Cited by 16 publications

References 7 publications

Understanding the current-voltage characteristics of industrial crystalline silicon solar cells by considering inhomogeneous current distributions

Understanding the current-voltage characteristics of industrial crystalline silicon solar cells by considering inhomogeneous current distributions

The Physics of Industrial Crystalline Silicon Solar Cells

Compatibility of the alternative seed layer (ASL) process with mono-Si and poly-Si substrates patterned by laser or wet etching

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