Advanced crystalline silicon solar cell processing and characterization
Event details
| Date | 16.06.2010 |
| Hour | 09:00 |
| Speaker | Dr Sara Olibet, 1366 Technologies Inc. MIT start-up, Boston |
| Location | |
| Category | Conferences - Seminars |
With over 10 GW manufacturing of crystalline Si cells (c-Si) in 2009 and an expected manufacturing capacity well over 20 GW by the end of 2010, c-Si technology is expected to play an important role in the future of electricity generation. In this perspective, developing tomorrow’s device structures and characterization tools, strengthening scientific bases, while setting up highly cost effective production routes is a fantastic challenge for scientists and engineers.
Crystalline silicon solar cell efficiencies are improving thanks to advanced solar cell concepts along with a better understanding of the underlying physics. Monocrystalline based silicon solar cells reach highest efficiencies, provided outstanding electronic surface passivations are achieved. In this respect, amorphous silicon does not only yield an excellent surface passivation but can simultaneously form the semiconductor junction leading to crystalline silicon cells with record open-circuit voltage. Advanced multicrystalline silicon solar cells are dominated by their material quality. The junction diffusion process and the surface passivation layer have the additional task of improving the multicrystalline silicon (mc-Si) by leading to internal and external impurities gettering and dangling bond passivation. Monitoring mc-Si material quality during processing is greatly facilitated with novel characterization methods such as luminescence imaging. Such techniques are additionally invaluable for improving metallization schemes. Eventually, future efficiency enhancements are also expected from novel light-incoupling and light-trapping schemes.
Practical information
- General public
- Free
Contact
- Juergen Brugger