Solution-Doped Polysilicon Passivating Contacts for Silicon Solar Cells

In this work, we present a simple and efficient solution-doping process for preparing high-quality polycrystalline silicon (poly-Si)-based passivating contacts. Commercial phosphorus or boron-doping solutions are spin-coated on crystalline silicon (c-Si) wafers that feature SiO2/poly-Si layers; the doping process is then activated by thermal annealing at high temperatures in a nitrogen atmosphere. With optimized n- and p-type solution doping and thermal annealing, n- and p-type poly-Si passivating contacts featuring simultaneously a low contact recombination parameter (J(0c)) of 2.4 and 12 fA/cm(2) and a low contact resistivity (rho(c)) of 29 and 20 m Omega.cm(2) are achieved, respectively. Taking advantage of the single-sided nature of these solution-doping processes, c-Si solar cells with poly-Si passivating contacts of opposite polarity on the respective wafer surfaces are fabricated using a simple coannealing process, achieving the best power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 18.5% on a planar substrate. Overall, the solution-doping method is demonstrated to be a simple and promising alternative to gas/ion implantation doping for poly-Si passivating-contact manufacturing.

Automated summary

A simple and efficient solution-doping process was proposed for preparing high-quality poly-Si-based passivating contacts, achieving low contact recombination parameter and resistivity through optimized doping and thermal annealing. The method proved to be a promising alternative to gas/ion implantation doping for manufacturing poly-Si passivating contacts in solar cells, leading to the best power conversion efficiency on a planar substrate.