Silicon‐based passivating contacts: The TOPCon route

Glunz, Stefan W.; Steinhauser, Bernd; Polzin, Jana‐Isabelle; Luderer, Christoph; Grübel, Benjamin; Niewelt, Tim; Okasha, Asmaa Mohamed Okasha Mohamed; Bories, Mathias; Nagel, H.; Krieg, Katrin; Feldmann, Frank; Richter, Armin; Bivour, Martin; Hermle, Martin

doi:10.1002/pip.3522

Cited by 45 publications

(41 citation statements)

References 99 publications

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“…105 In addition, the SiO 2 with either a TCO or poly-Si layer fosters the formation of the full-area electron contact of the absorber to decrease resistance, reducing recombination and transport losses and overcoming the limitations of the current generation of PERC singlejunction cells. 25,84,106 Recombination Layer in 2T Perovskite/TOPCon Tandem Cells. In 2T tandem cells with TOPCon bottom cells, both ITO and doped poly-Si can be utilized as the tunnel-junction.…”

Section: ■ Recombination Layermentioning

confidence: 99%

Perovskite/Silicon Tandem Solar Cells: Choice of Bottom Devices and Recombination Layers

et al. 2023

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Perovskite/silicon tandem solar cells have been intensively studied in recent years, and their efficiencies have rapidly increased owing to the numerous efforts in this field. A question about which type of silicon solar cell is the most suitable subcell in tandem devices emerges. Herein, three attractive silicon solar cells are summarized, including passivated-emitter rear-cell (PERC), tunnel oxide passivated contact (TOPCon), and heterojunction (HJT) cells. Their structures and features are elucidated for a clear understanding of the mechanism and potential of optimum performance. Moreover, the characteristics and performance of perovskite/silicon tandem cells with PERC, TOPCon, and HJT subcells are contrasted and discussed. The significant contribution of the passivation layer and structure design on both sides to photovoltaic properties of tandem devices is emphasized. Especially, the recombination layer between two subcells is analyzed in depth in terms of material chemistry, light absorption, and charge transport with a review on preparing the optimized structure.

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Section: ■ Recombination Layermentioning

confidence: 99%

Perovskite/Silicon Tandem Solar Cells: Choice of Bottom Devices and Recombination Layers

et al. 2023

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“…The so‐called “passivating contacts,” or “passivated contacts,” 5–7 intend to go further, seeking to suppress recombination related, not just to the metal/semiconductor interface, but to the whole junction. Here, the junction refers to the layer or layers that when deposited on, or formed in, the silicon wafer serve to separate electrons from holes, selecting one charge carrier type for transport towards one of the metal electrodes while hindering the other carrier.…”

Section: Introduction To Passivating Contacts or Junctionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The so-called "passivating contacts," or "passivated contacts," [5][6][7] intend to go further, seeking to suppress recombination related, not just to the metal/semiconductor interface, but to the whole junction.…”

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confidence: 99%

Silicon solar cells with passivating contacts: Classification and performance

Yan

Cuevas

Stückelberger

et al. 2022

Progress in Photovoltaics

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The year 2014 marks the point when silicon solar cells surpassed the 25% efficiency mark. Since then, all devices exceeding this mark, both small and large area, with contacts on both sides of the silicon wafer or just at the back, have utilized at least one passivating contact. Here, a passivating contact is defined as a group of layers that simultaneously provide selective conduction of charge carriers and effective passivation of the silicon surface. The widespread success of passivating contacts has prompted increased research into ways in which carrier-selective junctions can be formed, yielding a diverse range of approaches. This paper seeks to classify passivating contact solar cells into three families, according to the material used for chargecarrier selection: doped amorphous silicon, doped polycrystalline silicon, and metal compounds/organic materials. The paper tabulates their current efficiency values, discusses distinctive features, advantages, and limitations, and highlights promising opportunities going forth towards even higher conversion efficiencies.

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“…However, their reported cell V oc < 640 mV and cell efficiency < 19% were not remarkable by current standards [34,35]. Therefore, ALD was not considered a potential method for tunnel oxide fabrication in TOPCon solar cells as, for example, evidenced by review articles by D. Yan [22] and S. W. Glunz [36] published in 2021.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Atomic scale controlled tunnel oxide enabled by a novel industrial tube‐based PEALD technology with demonstrated commercial TOPCon cell efficiencies > 24%

Liao

Yeo

et al. 2022

Progress in Photovoltaics

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In this work, we report on a significant breakthrough in fabricating the critical tunnel oxide layer of tunnel oxide passivated contacts (TOPCon) high-efficiency solar cells compatible with high-volume manufacturing. We show that the tunnel oxide can be controlled at the atomic scale, enabled by an innovative tube-type industrial plasmaassisted atomic layer deposition (PEALD) method. In combination with an in situ doped poly-Si (n + ) layer grown by plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition, a uniform, ultrathin $1.3 nm SiO x layer is obtained at the c-Si/SiO x /poly-Si (n + ) interface.Extremely low recombination current densities down to 2.8 fA/cm 2 and an implied open-circuit voltage (iV oc ) as high as 759 mV are achieved, comparable to state-ofthe-art laboratory results. The developed tube-type PEALD SiO x is applied to industrial TOPCon solar cells resulting in a solar cell efficiency and open-circuit voltage of up to 24.2% and 710 mV, respectively. The tunnel oxide process window is about 2.4 Å, highlighting the importance of precisely controlling the tunnel oxide thickness at the atomic scale for TOPCon solar cells. The newly developed tube-type industrial PEALD SiO x method opens up a promising new route toward mass production of high-efficiency industrial TOPCon solar cells. Furthermore, the developed tube-type PEALD method can easily be integrated with the industrial tube-type plasmaenhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) method, thus enabling the deposition of all thin film layers in TOPCon solar cells in one integrated PEALD/PECVD system. This significantly simplifies manufacturing complexity and fosters the commercialization of next-generation high-efficiency industrial TOPCon solar cells.

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Silicon‐based passivating contacts: The TOPCon route

Cited by 45 publications

References 99 publications

Perovskite/Silicon Tandem Solar Cells: Choice of Bottom Devices and Recombination Layers

Perovskite/Silicon Tandem Solar Cells: Choice of Bottom Devices and Recombination Layers

Silicon solar cells with passivating contacts: Classification and performance

Atomic scale controlled tunnel oxide enabled by a novel industrial tube‐based PEALD technology with demonstrated commercial TOPCon cell efficiencies > 24%

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