A solar cell and a photovoltaic module including the solar cell. The solar cell includes: a semiconductor substrate including a first surface and a second surface opposite to each other; a first dielectric layer located on the first surface; a first N+ doped layer located on a surface of the first dielectric layer; a first passivation layer located on a surface of the first N+ doped layer; a first electrode located on a surface of the first passivation layer; a second dielectric layer located on the second surface; a first P+ doped layer located on a surface of the second dielectric layer; a second passivation layer located on a surface of the first P+ doped layer; and a second electrode located on a surface of the second passivation layer.

Methods of fabricating solar cell emitter regions with differentiated P-type and N-type regions architectures, and resulting solar cells, are described. In an example, a back contact solar cell includes a substrate having a light-receiving surface and a back surface. A first polycrystalline silicon emitter region of a first conductivity type is disposed on a first thin dielectric layer disposed on the back surface of the substrate. A second polycrystalline silicon emitter region of a second, different, conductivity type is disposed on a second thin dielectric layer disposed on the back surface of the substrate. A third thin dielectric layer is disposed laterally directly between the first and second polycrystalline silicon emitter regions. A first conductive contact structure is disposed on the first polycrystalline silicon emitter region. A second conductive contact structure is disposed on the second polycrystalline silicon emitter region.

Polymer-based selective radiative cooling structures are provided which include a selectively emissive layer of a polymer or a polymer matrix composite material. Exemplary selective radiative cooling structures are in the form of a sheet, film or coating. Also provided are methods for removing heat from a body by selective thermal radiation using polymer-based selective radiative cooling structures.

Methods of fabricating solar cells having junctions retracted from cleaved edges, and the resulting solar cells, are described. In an example, a solar cell includes a substrate having a light-receiving surface, a back surface, and sidewalls. An emitter region is in the substrate at the light-receiving surface of the substrate. The emitter region has sidewalls laterally retracted from the sidewalls of the substrate. A passivation layer is on the sidewalls of the emitter region.

Reconfigurable PV panels can have features that include cut lines for separating full panels into smaller subpanels, connector ribbons for assembling several reconfigurable PV panels into a one-dimensional or two-dimensional array and can be stacked upon each other and unstacked by rotating them about a shared connection.

Provided is a conductive material that is capable of achieving a high-electric conductivity, long-term stability under an atmospheric environment, heat and high humidity stabilities, as well as a conductive film and a solar cell using the same. The conductive material includes a mixture of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and polystyrene sulfonic acid (PSS acid). The element ratio (S/C ratio) of sulfur (S) to carbon (C) in the mixture may be from 0.001 to 0.1 in terms of the number of atoms. CNTs and PSS acid may make up a content percentage of 10 wt % or more in the mixture. These conductive films comprised of the conductive material 6 may have a weight per unit area of the CNTs in the range from 1 mg/m.sup.2 to 10000 mg/m.sup.2. The solar cell may include the conductive film 7, wherein the film is on the surface of a semiconductor.

A multijunction solar cell including a substrate and a top (or light-facing) solar subcell having an emitter layer, a base layer, and a window layer adjacent to the emitter layer, the window layer composed of a material that is optically transparent, has a band gap of greater than 2.6 eV, and includes an appropriately arranged multilayer antireflection coating on the top surface thereof.

A method of fabricating a solar cell is disclosed. The method can include forming a dielectric region on a surface of a solar cell structure and forming a metal layer on the dielectric layer. The method can also include configuring a laser beam with a particular shape and directing the laser beam with the particular shape on the metal layer, where the particular shape allows a contact to be formed between the metal layer and the solar cell structure.

A solar cell can include a silicon semiconductor substrate; an oxide layer on a first surface of the silicon semiconductor substrate; a polysilicon layer on the oxide layer; a diffusion region at a second surface of the silicon semiconductor substrate; a dielectric film on the polysilicon layer; a first electrode connected to the polysilicon layer through the dielectric film; a passivation film on the diffusion region; and a second electrode connected to the diffusion region through the passivation film.

The disclosure provides a passivated contact structure and a solar cell including the same, a cell assembly and a photovoltaic system. The passivated contact structure includes a first passivated contact region on a silicon substrate and a second passivated contact region on the first passivated contact region. The second passivated contact region has an opening connecting a conductive layer to the first passivated contact region. The first passivated contact region includes a first doped layer, a first passivation layer and a second doped layer. The second passivated contact region includes a second passivation layer and a third doped layer. The first passivation layer is a porous structure inlaid with the first doped layer and/or the second doped layer in a hole region. Utilizing the passivated contact structure provided in this invention, mitigates the serious recombination caused by metal directly contacting with silicon substrate.