The Study of Improving the Conversion Efficiency and Reducing the Thickness of the HIT Solar Cell

Abstract

In order to reduce the power-generating cost of silicon solar cells, it is necessary to achieve a high conversion efficiency using a thinner crystalline silicon (c-Si) substrate. The HIT solar cell is an amorphous silicon (a-Si) /crystalline silicon (c-Si) heterojunction solar cell that makes it possible to realize excellent surface passivation and hence high open circuit voltage (V oc ). In addition, its symmetrical structure and a low-temperature fabrication process that is under 200C provide advantages in reducing thermal and mechanical stresses within the device so that it can easily be applied to thinner solar cells. We fabricated HIT solar cells using thin wafers from 58-98 μm, and achieved a 22.8% conversion efficiency with a HIT solar cell using a 98-μm-thick wafer, and an excellent V oc value of 0.747 V with a HIT solar cell using a 58-μm-thick wafer.