Loss Analysis and Performance Optimization Pathways of 729-mV Voc Si Solar Cells with Poly-Si on Locally-Etched Dielectric Passivating Contacts

Suchismita Mitra, Caroline Lima Anderson, Matthew Hartenstein, William Nemeth, Matthew Page, San Theingi, David Young, Sumit Agarwal, Paul Stradins

Research output: Contribution to conferencePaper

Abstract

In this article, the loss analysis of silicon solar cells with polysilicon on locally-etched dielectric passivating contacts with Voc=729.0 mV and efficiency=22.6% has been presented. Experimentally, nano-pinholes were introduced in SiO x (2.2 nm) and SiO x /SiN y (2.2 nm/8nm) stack using metal-assisted chemical etching (MACE). SunSolve and Quokka3 were used to simulate the experimental solar cell and investigate the optical and electrical power losses. Simulations suggest maximum power loss occurs due to recombination and resistive losses in the bulk (~0.76 mW/cm2) followed by power loss due to rear contact recombination (~0.35 mW/cm2). Recombination at the front surface also contributes to 0.24 mW/cm2. The effect of improving the bulk lifetime and lowering the recombination current density at the rear side on Voc, FF and hence, efficiency has been investigated. Further, advanced structures have been proposed to minimize recombination and parasitic absorption to achieve higher Voc and Jsc of the solar cells with locally-etched dielectric passivating contacts.
Original languageAmerican English
Number of pages5
DOIs
StatePublished - 2023
Event2023 IEEE 50th Photovoltaic Specialists Conference (PVSC) - San Juan, Puerto Rico
Duration: 11 Jun 202316 Jun 2023

Conference

Conference2023 IEEE 50th Photovoltaic Specialists Conference (PVSC)
CitySan Juan, Puerto Rico
Period11/06/2316/06/23

NREL Publication Number

  • NREL/CP-5900-88882

Keywords

  • contacts
  • dielectric losses
  • etching
  • optical losses
  • photovoltaic cells
  • photovoltaic systems
  • silicon

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