A solar cell includes a solar cell substrate including a principal surface on which a p-type surface and an n-type surface are exposed, a p-side electrode formed on the p-type surface and including a first linear portion linearly extending in a first direction, and an n-side electrode formed on the n-type surface and including a second linear portion linearly extending in the first direction and arranged next to the first linear portion in a second direction orthogonal to the first direction. Corners of a tip end of at least one of the first and second linear portions are formed in a chamfered shape.

Methods for forming passivated contacts include implanting compound-forming ions into a substrate to about a first depth below a surface of the substrate, and implanting dopant ions into the substrate to about a second depth below the surface. The second depth may be shallower than the first depth. The methods also include annealing the substrate.

Described herein are methods of fabricating solar cells. In an example, a method of fabricating a solar cell includes forming an amorphous dielectric layer on the back surface of a substrate opposite a light-receiving surface of the substrate. The method also includes forming a microcrystalline silicon layer on the amorphous dielectric layer by plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD). The method also includes forming an amorphous silicon layer on the microcrystalline silicon layer by PECVD. The method also includes annealing the microcrystalline silicon layer and the amorphous silicon layer to form a homogeneous polycrystalline silicon layer from the microcrystalline silicon layer and the amorphous silicon layer. The method also includes forming an emitter region from the homogeneous polycrystalline silicon layer.

There is provided a photovoltaic device (100) having a substrate (10), i-type amorphous layers (16i, 18i) formed over a region of at least a part of a back surface of the substrate, and an i-type amorphous layer (12i) formed over a region of at least a part of a light-receiving surface of the substrate (10); and characterized in that electrodes (24n, 24p) are provided on the back surface and no electrode is provided on the light-receiving surface, and an electrical resistance per unit area of the back surface side i-type amorphous layers is lower than an electrical resistance per unit area of the light-receiving surface side i-type amorphous layer.

Laser processing schemes are disclosed for producing various types of hetero-junction and homo-junction solar cells. The methods include base and emitter contact opening, selective doping, and metal ablation. Also, laser processing schemes are disclosed that are suitable for selective amorphous silicon ablation and selective doping for hetero-junction solar cells. These laser processing techniques may be applied to semiconductor substrates, including crystalline silicon substrates, and further including crystalline silicon substrates which are manufactured either through wire saw wafering methods or via epitaxial deposition processes, that are either planar or textured/three-dimensional. These techniques are highly suited to crystalline semiconductor, including crystalline silicon.

What is proposed is a method of producing at least two differently heavily doped subzones (3, 5) predominantly doped with a first dopant type in a silicon substrate (1), in particular for a solar cell. The method comprises: covering at least a first subzone (3) of the silicon substrate (1) in which a heavier doping with the first dopant type is to be produced with a doping layer (7) of borosilicate glass, wherein at least a second subzone (5) of the silicon substrate (1) in which a lighter doping with the first dopant type is to be produced is not covered with the doping layer (7), and wherein boron as a dopant of a second dopant type differing from the first dopant type and oppositely polarized with respect to the same is included in the layer (7), and; heating the such prepared silicon substrate (1) to temperatures above 300 C., preferably above 900 C., in a furnace in an atmosphere containing significant quantities of the first dopant type. Additionally, at least a third doped subzone (15) doped with the second dopant type may be produced by the method additionally comprising, prior to the heating, a covering of the doping layer (7), above the third doped subzone (15) to be produced, with a further layer (17) acting as a diffusion barrier for the first dopant type.

The method uses the observation that a borosilicate glass layer seems to promote an in-diffusion of phosphorus from a gas atmosphere and may substantially facilitate a manufacturing for example of solar cells, in particular back contact solar cells.

A solar cell can include a conductive foil having a first portion with a first yield strength coupled to a semiconductor region of the solar cell. The solar cell can be interconnected with another solar cell via an interconnect structure that includes a second portion of the conductive foil, with the interconnect structure having a second yield strength greater than the first yield strength.

A method of manufacturing a solar cell is discussed. The method includes forming a textured structure on a front surface of a silicon substrate; forming a front passivation layer on the front surface of the silicon substrate; forming an anti-reflection layer on the front passivation layer; forming a first layer having a dopant of a first conductive type on a first portion of a rear surface of the silicon substrate; forming a second layer having a dopant of a second conductive type on the first layer and a second portion of the rear surface of the silicon substrate; diffusing the dopant of the first layer and the dopant of the second layer into the silicon substrate to form a n-doped region and a p-doped region, respectively, wherein the n-doped region and the p-doped region are disposed at about a same depth from the rear surface of the silicon substrate.

A method for manufacturing solar cells is disclosed. The method includes forming an insulating material in a printable suspension along the at least one side edge of a solar cell, the insulating material in a printable suspension further adapted to form a protective film which reduces cracking near at least one side edge of the solar cell and improve structural integrity against mechanical stress. The protective film has an elastic modulus of at least 3 GPa, an elongation break point of at least 13 percent and a glass transition temperature of at least 250 degrees Celsius which provides additional structural support along the side edges, increasing the overall structural integrity, providing electrical insulation along the edges and improve the flexure strength of the solar cell.

A photovoltaic device includes a crystalline substrate having a first dopant conductivity, an interdigitated back contact and a front surface field structure. The front surface field structure includes a crystalline layer formed on the substrate and a noncrystalline layer formed on the crystalline layer. The crystalline layer and the noncrystalline layer are doped with dopants having a same dopant conductivity as the substrate. Methods are also disclosed.