Plated metal adhesion to picosecond laser-ablated silicon solar cells: Influence of surface chemistry and wettability

Shen, Xiaowei; Hsiao, Pei‐Chieh; Phua, Benjamin; Stokes, Alex; Lennon, Alison

doi:10.1016/j.solmat.2019.110285

Cited by 12 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 52 publications

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“…Twenty-five small cell contact grids (25 × 25 mm) were patterned on the front of each wafer by the removal of the silicon nitride antireflection layer with a 266 nm ps Lumera Super Rapid Nd:YAG laser with a BBO crystal for the fourth harmonic. Pretreatment (deglazing) was performed by single-side immersion in 1% HF for 60 s to remove native oxides formed during laser ablation followed by a rinse with deionized water. , LIP was used for the Ni (∼1 μm), Cu (∼11 μm), and Ag (∼1 μm) contact stack. After cells were plated, they were annealed (350 °C, 1 min, N 2 ambient) to form NiSi X .…”

Section: Results and Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Copper Outdiffusion from Copper-Plated Solar Cell Contacts during Damp Heat Exposure

Karas

Phua

et al. 2022

ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces

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Plated copper (Cu) contacts for silicon (Si) solar cells are an attractive alternative material to conventional screenprinted silver, but there are unresolved questions on the long-term integrity of plated contact structures. In this work, we perform characterization on plated Cu contacts from encapsulated cells that were degraded during extended exposure to damp heat (DH) stress. First, using energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, we find evidence of Cu outdiffusion upward through capping layers made of both tin and silver applied with light-induced plating, resulting in a layer of Cu on the outer contact surface. We hypothesize that if Cu is mobile in the module, it may eventually find some route by which to enter the Si cells where it can degrade performance. Subsequently, in several types of Cu-plated, DH-degraded cells, secondary ion mass spectrometry detects elevated levels of Cu at the Si surface and in the Si cell bulk, which suggests that Cu can indeed migrate from contacts into Si over the course of DH stress.

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Section: Results and Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Copper Outdiffusion from Copper-Plated Solar Cell Contacts during Damp Heat Exposure

Karas

Phua

et al. 2022

ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces

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“…In comparison with other methods, the technology shows excellent potential due to its various benefits, such as non-pollution, simplicity, high precision and relative rapidity. [152][153][154][155][156][157][158][159][160][161][162][163][164][165][166][167][168][169][170] However, some stubborn problems originating from this technology and the membrane itself still persist. From the perspective of femtosecond laser microfabrication technology, the products prepared via a femtosecond laser are always unstable, e.g., the surface wettability induced by a femtosecond laser may change over a period of time.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Recent advances in femtosecond laser-structured Janus membranes with asymmetric surface wettability

Yin

et al. 2021

Nanoscale

130

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“…For alternative metallisation schemes where selective laser ablation is used to form the opening for a metal contact grid, these simulations suggest that smaller and uniform‐sized pyramids can result in more uniform ablation of the SiN x ARC for contact formation. Recent studies have highlighted that non‐uniform laser ablation can reduce the adhesion of plated metallisation 16 and impact module durability 7 …”

Section: Simulation Of Laser Irradiation On Textured Sinx/si Surfacesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, one key challenge faced by laser ablation of dielectrics on Si solar cells is the unintended laser damage (i.e., induced crystal defects and dislocations), which can subsequently introduce additional carrier recombination 14,15 . Consequently, the optimisation of ablation conditions for the complete removal of dielectric layers with minimal impact of introduced laser damage is necessary 16 …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Modelling picosecond and nanosecond laser ablation for prediction of induced damage on textured SiN_x/Si surfaces of Si solar cells

Shen

Hsiao

Wang

et al. 2021

Progress in Photovoltaics

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This study investigated the laser‐induced damage arising from 266 and 532 nm laser ablation of SiNx films on alkaline textured Si surfaces with nanosecond and picosecond pulse durations using a combination of optical‐thermal simulations and measurements of carrier recombination current density. Simulations predict that the melting depth is limited to within 150 nm of the SiNx/Si surface after 266 nm ps laser irradiation due to the greater absorption in both the SiNx and Si resulting in more direct ablation, while temperatures exceeding the melting temperature of Si are predicted to extend up to 1000 nm into the Si substrate with 532 nm ps pulses leading primarily to spallation. Ablation of the SiNx by 266 nm ps irradiation is predicted to be more homogeneous on smaller sized pyramids due to the increased absorption of double‐bounce reflected light on the pyramid faces. This finding has implications for applications requiring uniform ablation of dielectrics on textured Si surfaces. Ablation of SiNx by the longer wavelength 532 nm ps pulses also increases carrier recombination compared to that incurred with 266 nm ps pulses due to the increased melting depth. Longer ns pulses result in less steep temperature gradients and, for 266 nm pulses, an increased melting depth compared to ps pulses. Consequently, shorter ps UV pulses are preferred for SiNx ablation on Si surfaces due to their reduced laser damage penetration, whereas the less steep temperature gradients resulting from ns 532 nm pulses are beneficial for laser doping to form selective emitters.

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Plated metal adhesion to picosecond laser-ablated silicon solar cells: Influence of surface chemistry and wettability

Cited by 12 publications

References 52 publications

Copper Outdiffusion from Copper-Plated Solar Cell Contacts during Damp Heat Exposure

Copper Outdiffusion from Copper-Plated Solar Cell Contacts during Damp Heat Exposure

Recent advances in femtosecond laser-structured Janus membranes with asymmetric surface wettability

Modelling picosecond and nanosecond laser ablation for prediction of induced damage on textured SiN_x/Si surfaces of Si solar cells

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Plated metal adhesion to picosecond laser-ablated silicon solar cells: Influence of surface chemistry and wettability

Cited by 12 publications

References 52 publications

Copper Outdiffusion from Copper-Plated Solar Cell Contacts during Damp Heat Exposure

Copper Outdiffusion from Copper-Plated Solar Cell Contacts during Damp Heat Exposure

Recent advances in femtosecond laser-structured Janus membranes with asymmetric surface wettability

Modelling picosecond and nanosecond laser ablation for prediction of induced damage on textured SiNx/Si surfaces of Si solar cells

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About

Modelling picosecond and nanosecond laser ablation for prediction of induced damage on textured SiN_x/Si surfaces of Si solar cells