High-performance p-type multicrystalline silicon (mc-Si): Its characterization and projected performance in PERC solar cells

Recent progress in the electronic quality of high-performance (HP) multicrystalline silicon material is reported with measurements and modeling performed at various institutions and research groups. It is shown that recent progress has been made in the fabrication at Trina Solar mainly by improving the high excess carrier lifetimes τ due to a considerable reduction of mid-gap states. However, the high lifetimes in the wafers are still reduced by interstitial iron by a factor of about 10 at maximum power point (mpp) conditions compared to mono-crystalline Cz wafers of equivalent resistivity. The low lifetime areas of the wafers seem to be limited by precipitates, most likely Cu. Through simulations, it appears that dislocations reduce cell efficiency by about 0.25% absolute. The best predictors for PERC cell efficiency from ingot metrology are a combination of mean lifetime and dislocation density because dislocations cannot be improved considerably by gettering during cell processing, while lifetime-limiting impurities are gettered well. In future, the material may limit cell efficiency above about 22.5% if the concentrations of Fe and Cu remain above 1010 and 1013 cm−3, respectively, and if dislocations are not reduced further.

Trina Solar, and many more

Pietro P. Altermatt and Zhen Xiong and QiuXiang He and WeiWei Deng and Feng Ye and Yang Yang and Yifeng Chen and ZhiQiang Feng and Pierre J. Verlinden and Anyao Liu and Daniel H. Macdonald and Tabea Luka and Dominik Lausch and Marko Turek and Christian Hagendorf and Hannes Wagner-Mohnsen and Jonas Schön and Wolfram Kwapil and Felix Frühauf and Otwin Breitenstein and Erin E. Looney and Tonio Buonassisi and David B. Needleman and Christine M. Jackson and Aaron R. Arehart and Steven A. Ringel and Keith R. McIntosh and Malcolm D. Abbott and Ben A. Sudbury and Annika Zuschlag and Clemens Winter and Daniel Skorka and Giso Hahn and Daniel Chung and Bernhard Mitchell and Peter Geelan-Small and Thorsten Trupke

Solar Energy

2018

2

10.1016/J.SOLENER.2018.01.073

0038-092X

Pergamon