2/15/2016 Silicon
Solar Cell Parameters | PVEducation
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‹ Metal Grid Pattern Silicon Solar Cell Parameters Efficiency and Solar
Christiana Honsberg Cell Cost ›
and Stuart Bowden
For silicon solar cells, the basic design constraints on surface reflection, carrier collection, recombination and
Instructions parasitic resistances result in an optimum device of about 25% theoretical efficiency. A schematic of such an
1. Introduction optimum device is shown below.
2. Properties of Sunlight
3. PN Junction
4. Solar Cell Operation
5. Design of Silicon Cells
Solar Cell Design Principles
5.1. Optical Properties
Optical Losses
AntiReflection Coatings
AR Coating Color
DLARC
Surface Texturing
Material Thickness
Light Trapping
Lambertian Rear Reflectors
5.2. Reducing Recombination
Recombination Losses
Current Losses Due to
Recombination
Voltage Losses due to
Recombination
Surface Recombination
5.3. Top Contact Design
Series Resistance
Base Resistance
Sheet Resistivity
Emitter Resistance Basic schematic of a silicon solar cell. The top layer is referred to as the emitter and the bulk material is referred to
Contact Resistance as the base.
Finger Resistance
Optimization of Finger Spacing
Basic Cell Design Compromises
Metal Grid Pattern
5.4. Solar Cell Structure Substrate Material
Silicon Solar Cell Parameters
(usually silicon)
Efficiency and Solar Cell Cost
Chapter 5 Quiz Bulk crystalline silicon dominates the current photovoltaic market, in part due to the prominence of silicon in the
6. Manufacturing Si Cells integrated circuit market. As is also the case for transistors, silicon does not have optimum material parameters.
7. Modules and Arrays In particular, silicon's band gap is slightly too low for an optimum solar cell and since silicon is an indirect
8. Characterization material, it has a low absorption coefficient. While the low absorption coefficient can be overcome by light
9. Material Properties trapping, silicon is also difficult to grow into thin sheets. However, silicon's abundance, and its domination of the
11. Appendices semiconductor manufacturing industry has made it difficult for other materials to compete.
Korean Version
List of:
Cell Thickness
(100500 µm)
An optimum silicon solar cell with light trapping and very good surface passivation is about 100 µm thick.
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However, thickness between 200 and 500µm are typically used, partly for practical issues such as making and
handling thin wafers, and partly for surface passivation reasons.
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Doping of Base
(1 Ω·cm)
A higher base doping leads to a higher Voc and lower resistance, but higher levels of doping result in damage to the
crystal.
Reflection Control
(front surface typically textured)
The front surface is textured to increase the amount of light coupled into the cell.
Emitter Dopant
(ntype)
Ntype silicon has a higher surface quality than ptype silicon so it is placed at the front of the cell where most of
the light is absorbed. Thus the top of the cell is the negative terminal and the rear of the cell is the positive
terminal.
Emitter Thickness
(<1 μm)
A large fraction of light is absorbed close to the front surface. By making the front layer very thin, a large fraction
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of the carriers generated by the incoming light are created within a diffusion length of the pn junction.
Doping Level of Emitter
(100 Ω/☐)
The front junction is doped to a level sufficient to conduct away the generated electricity without resistive loses.
However, excessive levels of doping reduces the material's quality to the extent that carriers recombine before
reaching the junction.
Grid Pattern.
(fingers 20 to 200 µm width, placed 1 5 mm apart)
The resistivity of silicon is too high to conduct away all the current generated, so a lower resistivity metal grid is
placed on the surface to conduct away the current. The metal grid shades the cell from the incoming light so there
is a compromise between light collection and resistance of the metal grid.
Rear Contact.
The rear contact is much less important than the front contact since it is much further away from the junction and
does not need to be transparent. The design of the rear contact is becoming increasingly important as overall
efficiency increases and the cells become thinner.
‹ Metal Grid Pattern Efficiency and Solar Cell Cost ›
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