Al2O3 passivation approach supports 20.1 percent efficiency in industrial PERC Si solar cells

The i-PERC-type silicon solar cells have been manufactured on imec’s silicon solar cell pre-pilot line using RENA’s InPilot tool for rear-side polishing and emitter removal, and SoLayTec’s spatial ALD tool for Al2O3 deposition. These cells reached a best cell conversion efficiency of 20.1% and open circuit voltages up to 655mV. When applying Cu-plated contacts at the front instead of silver screen printed contacts, a top efficiency of 20.6% was reached.

The results will be presented at next week’s European Photovoltaic Solar Energy Conference and Exhibition (EUPVSEC) in Paris.

Visit imec at www.imec.be

Visit SoLayTec at www.solaytec.com

Visit RENA GmbH at www.rena.com