Poly-Si/SiOx Passivating Contacts on Both Sides: A Versatile Technology For High Efficiency Solar Cells

This work focuses on a passivating contacts technology for crystalline silicon (c-Si) wafers based on ultra-thin (15nm) poly-crystalline Silicon (poly-Si) on silicon oxide (SiOx) stacks. Combined with standard TCO (Transparent Conductive Oxide) layers in a simplified solar cells fabrication process, photovoltaic (PV) conversion efficiencies approaching 22% are obtained on cast-mono wafers. This technology is also shown to be compatible with different TCO layers, depending on the post metallization annealing step. This so called "High Temperature Silicon Heterojunction" structure is therefore very promising for high efficiency solar cells processes at lower cost.