Passivation of solar cell emitters using aluminum nitride

Abstract

Layers of hydrogenated aluminum nitride have proven excellent passivation properties on lowly doped silicon. Effective surface recombination velocities below 8 cm/s have been reached due to a very low interface defect density. In this work, the passivation of highly doped silicon is studied by measuring the emitter saturation current of boron as well as phosphorous emitters. It is shown that hydrogenation is a prerequisite for reaching effective passivation. Emitter saturation current densities of around 100 fA/cm2 are presented for highly doped p+-type and n+-type silicon allowing maximal open circuit voltages of ~680 mV for silicon solar cells

Laser‐Patterned n‐Type Front‐Junction Silicon Solar Cell With Tantalum Oxide/Silicon Nitride Passivation and Antireflection

“…Passivation of such surfaces has historically been a major challenge in the PV industry, however it has become more feasible through the use of the negatively charged dielectric aluminum oxide (Al 2 O 3 ) . Even more recently, several other dielectrics featuring negative charges have also been reported to provide a reasonable level of passivation to p + surfaces including titanium oxide, aluminium nitride, and gallium oxide …”

Passivating Contacts for Crystalline Silicon Solar Cells: An Overview of the Current Advances and Future Perspectives

“…Reactive sputtering technology, for instance, has shown promising passivation quality without needing TMA, leading to significant efficiency improvements in PERC cells compared to standard full BSF cells. [29] Another innovative approach is using the sol-gel method to apply a high-level AlO x passivation layer on the p-Si wafer by spraying methanol solutions containing Al components. [30] Wang et al [31] have introduced an AlO x passivation layer prepared using the ozonation method on the rear surface of PERC solar cells, achieving a noteworthy 0.6% efficiency enhancement over the best Al-BSF cell.…”

“…Reactive sputtering technology, for instance, has shown promising passivation quality without needing TMA, leading to significant efficiency improvements in PERC cells compared to standard full BSF cells. [ 29 ] Another innovative approach is using the sol‐gel method to apply a high‐level AlO x passivation layer on the p‐Si wafer by spraying methanol solutions containing Al components. [ 30 ] Wang et al.…”