A solar cell of the present invention includes a collecting electrode on one main surface of a photoelectric conversion section. The collecting electrode includes first and second electroconductive layers in this order from the photoelectric conversion section side, and an insulating layer between the first and second electroconductive layers, the insulating layer having an opening section formed therein. The first electroconductive layer is covered with the insulating layer, contains a low-melting-point material, and is conductively connected with a part of the second electroconductive layer via the opening section. The surface roughness of the second electroconductive layer is preferably 1.0 m to 10.0 m. The second electroconductive layer is preferably formed by a plating method. In order to conductively connect the first and second electroconductive layers, annealing of the first electroconductive layer by heating is preferably performed prior to forming the second electroconductive layer.

Methods for fabricating busbar and finger metallization over TCO are disclosed. Rather than using expensive and relatively resistive silver paste, a high conductivity and relatively low cost copper is used. Methods for enabling the use of copper as busbar and fingers over a TCO are disclosed, providing good adhesion while preventing migration of the copper into the TCO. Also, provisions are made for easy soldering contacts to the copper busbars.

Methods for producing photovoltaic material and a device able to exploit high energy photons. The photovoltaic material is obtained from a conventional photovoltaic material having a top surface intended to be exposed to photonic radiation, having a built-in P-N junction delimiting an emitter part and a base part and including at least one area or region specifically designed, treated or adapted to absorb high energy or energetic photons, located adjacent or near at least one hetero-interface. This material is subjected to treatments resulting in the formation of at least one semiconductor based metamaterial field or region being created, as a transitional region of the or a hetero-interface, in an area located continuous or proximate to the or an absorption area or region for the energetic photons of the photonic radiation impacting the photovoltaic material.

A solar cell includes a front side for light incidence, an opposite back side, a crystalline semiconductor substrate of a first or second conductivity type, a front side passivating region with a passivating layer and a conductive layer of the first type, a back side passivating region with a passivating layer and a conductive layer of the second type, a front side contact with one front side conductive material and front side electrical contacts on the front side conductive material, a front side light coupling layer on the front side, a back side contact opposite the front side contact and formed by back side conductive material and a back side electrical contact thereon. The front side has lower light absorption and better antireflective property. The front side conductive material is thinner in regions between and/or besides front side electrical contacts than in regions below front side electrical contacts.

This solar cell module includes a solar cell and a wiring member. The solar cell includes a collecting electrode on a light-receiving side of a photoelectric conversion section, and a back electrode on a back side of the photoelectric conversion section. Sequentially from the photoelectric conversion section side, the collecting electrode includes a first collecting electrode and a second collecting electrode, and the back electrode comprises a first back electrode and a second back electrode. It is preferable that the surface roughness Ra1 of the first collecting electrode and the surface roughness Ra2 of the second collecting electrode satisfy Ra1Ra2 and Ra2=1.0 to 10.0 m. It is also preferable that the outermost layer of the second collecting electrode and the outermost layer of the second back electrode are mainly composed of the same electroconductive material.

Disclosed are embodiments of a thin-film photovoltaic technology including a single-junction crystalline silicon solar cell with a photonic-plasmonic back-reflector structure for lightweight, flexible energy conversion applications. The back-reflector enables high absorption for long-wavelength and near-infrared photons via diffraction and light-concentration, implemented by periodic texturing of the bottom-contact layer by nanoimprint lithography. The thin-film crystalline silicon solar cell is implemented in a heterojunction design with amorphous silicon, where plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) is used for all device layers, including a low-temperature crystalline silicon deposition step. Excimer laser crystallization is used to integrate crystalline and amorphous silicon within a monolithic process, where a thin layer of amorphous silicon is converted to a crystalline silicon seed layer prior to deposition of a crystalline silicon absorber layer via PECVD. The crystalline nature of the absorber layer and the back-reflector enable efficiencies higher than what is achievable in other thin-film silicon devices.

A method for manufacturing a solar cell, the method comprising providing a substrate, arranging a passivation region on a surface of the substrate and arranging a collector layer on a surface of the passivation region, the step of arranging the passivation region comprises; depositing a first passivation layer on the surface of the substrate using a first gas; and, depositing a second passivation layer onto the surface of the first passivation layer using a second gas; wherein the first and second gases each comprise hydrogen gas and a silicon-based gas, wherein the ratio of hydrogen gas to silicon-based gas of the second gas is up to 2.5, and at least 0.4, times the ratio of hydrogen gas to silicon-based gas of the first gas.

A heterojunction battery and a preparation method therefor are provided. The heterojunction battery includes a crystalline silicon layer, a first intrinsic amorphous silicon layer, an N-type doped microcrystalline silicon layer, a first transparent conductive layer, and a first metal electrode are sequentially arranged on a front surface of the crystalline silicon layer from inside to outside, and a second intrinsic amorphous silicon layer, a P-type doped microcrystalline silicon layer, a second transparent conductive layer, and a second metal electrode are sequentially arranged on a back surface of the crystalline silicon layer from inside to outside. A local reduction layer is formed on a surface of the first transparent conductive layer that is under the first metal electrode and/or on a surface of the second transparent conductive layer that is under the second metal electrode.

Provided are a heterojunction solar cell film deposition apparatus, method and system, a solar cell, a module, and a power generation system. The heterojunction solar cell film deposition apparatus is configured for amorphous silicon-based film deposition, and comprises a loading cavity, a preheating cavity, intrinsic process cavities, doping process cavities and an unloading cavity that are linearly arranged in sequence, the cavities being isolated from each other by means of an isolating valve. At least two intrinsic process cavities are provided and are configured for deposition by means of an intrinsic layer silicon film process; and at least one doping process cavity is provided and is configured for deposition by means of an N-type silicon film or P-type silicon film process. The preheating cavity comprises a heating preheating chamber and a preheating buffer chamber that is configured for adjusting the gas and pressure atmosphere.

Provided are a heterojunction solar cell film deposition apparatus, method and system, a solar cell, a module, and a power generation system. The heterojunction solar cell film deposition apparatus is configured for amorphous silicon-based film deposition, and comprises a loading cavity, a preheating cavity, intrinsic process cavities, doping process cavities and an unloading cavity that are linearly arranged in sequence, the cavities being isolated from each other by means of an isolating valve. At least two intrinsic process cavities are provided and are configured for deposition by means of an intrinsic layer silicon film process; and at least one doping process cavity is provided and is configured for deposition by means of an N-type silicon film or P-type silicon film process. The preheating cavity comprises a heating preheating chamber and a preheating buffer chamber that is configured for adjusting the gas and pressure atmosphere.