Effectively transparent contacts (ETCs) for solar cells

We have developed effectively transparent contacts (ETCs) that allow for increased current in heterojunction solar cells. Micro-meter scaled triangular cross-section grid fingers with micro-meter scaled distance redirect light efficiently to the active area of the solar cell and hence, omit losses t...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in2016 IEEE 43rd Photovoltaic Specialists Conference (PVSC) pp. 3612 - 3615
Main Authors Saive, Rebecca, Bukowsky, Colton R., Yalamanchili, Sisir, Boccard, Mathieu, Saenz, Theresa, Borsuk, Aleca M., Holman, Zachary, Atwater, Harry A.
Format Conference Proceeding
LanguageEnglish
Published IEEE 01.06.2016
Subjects
Absorption
Effectively Transparent Contacts
Fingers
Indium tin oxide
Photovoltaic cells
Short-circuit currents
Silicon
Silicon Heterojunction Solar Cells
Three-Dimensional Printing
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Summary:We have developed effectively transparent contacts (ETCs) that allow for increased current in heterojunction solar cells. Micro-meter scaled triangular cross-section grid fingers with micro-meter scaled distance redirect light efficiently to the active area of the solar cell and hence, omit losses through reflection at the front finger grid. Furthermore, the grid fingers are placed close together such that only a very thin layer of transparent conductive oxides (TCO) is necessary which avoids parasitic absorption and can decrease material costs. In this paper we experimentally show current enhancement of ~2 mA/cm 2 in silicon heterojunction solar cells using ETCs. 1 mA/cm 2 is gained through less parasitic absorption and 1 mA/cm 2 is gained by efficient redirection of light and therefore, absent shadowing losses.
DOI:10.1109/PVSC.2016.7750346