>20% efficient 80 μm thin industrial-type large-area solar cells from 100 μm Sawn c-Si Wafers

Abstract

Reducing the thickness of crystalline Si wafers to be processed into solar cells yields several significant benefits: PV module manufacturing cost can be reduced and the required diffusion length of minority carriers is smaller. The latter in turn enables a higher efficiency potential and a larger spread of Si materials to be employed for rear junction solar cell concepts which are advantageous for n-type devices. Industrial-type 80 μm thin large-area rear junction solar cells manufactured from 100 μm wire-sawn wafers exhibit an independently certified efficiency of 20.1% with VOC of 672 mV.