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.

Methods of fabricating solar cells using a metal-containing thermal and diffusion barrier layer in foil-based metallization approaches, and the resulting solar cells, are described. For example, a method of fabricating a solar cell includes forming a plurality of semiconductor regions in or above a substrate. The method also includes forming a metal-containing thermal and diffusion barrier layer above the plurality of semiconductor regions. The method also includes forming a metal seed layer on the metal-containing thermal and diffusion barrier layer. The method also includes forming a metal conductor layer on the metal seed layer. The method also includes laser welding the metal conductor layer to the metal seed layer. The metal-containing thermal and diffusion barrier layer protects the plurality of semiconductor regions during the laser welding.

A laser processing system can be utilized to produce high-performance interdigitated back contact (IBC) solar cells. The laser processing system can be utilized to ablate, transfer material, and/or laser-dope or laser fire contacts. Laser ablation can be utilized to remove and pattern openings in a passivated or emitter layer. Laser transferring may then be utilized to transfer dopant and/or contact materials to the patterned openings, thereby forming an interdigitated finger pattern. The laser processing system may also be utilized to plate a conductive material on top of the transferred dopant or contact materials.

An aluminum paste comprising particulate aluminum, an organic vehicle and glass frit selected from (i) lead-free glass frits with a softening point temperature in the range of 550 to 611 C. and containing 11 to 33 wt.-% of SiO.sub.2, >0 to 7 wt.-% of Al.sub.2O.sub.3 and 2 to 10 wt.-% of B.sub.2O.sub.3 and (ii) lead-containing glass frits with a softening point temperature in the range of 571 to 636 C. and containing 53 to 57 wt.-% of PbO, 25 to 29 wt.-% of SiO.sub.2, 2 to 6 wt.-% of Al.sub.2O.sub.3 and 6 to 9 wt.-% of B.sub.2O.sub.3, useful in the production of aluminum back electrodes of PERC silicon solar cells.

A solar cell module includes a plurality of solar cells each including a semiconductor substrate and first and second electrodes extending in a first direction on a back surface of the semiconductor substrate, and conductive lines disposed to extend in a second direction crossing the first direction on the back surface of the semiconductor substrate of each solar cell. The conductive lines are connected to the first and second electrodes through a conductive adhesive or are insulated from the first and second electrodes through an insulating layer. A first direction length of the conductive adhesive and a first direction length of the insulating layer are equal to or greater than a linewidth of each conductive line and are less than a distance between the conductive lines. The first direction length of the insulating layer is greater than the first direction length of the conductive adhesive.

A solar cell module and a method for manufacturing the same are disclosed. The solar cell module includes solar cells each including a semiconductor substrate, and first electrodes and second electrodes extending in a first direction on a surface of the semiconductor substrate, conductive lines extended in a second direction crossing the first direction on the surface of the semiconductor substrate and connected to the first electrodes or the second electrodes through a conductive adhesive, and an insulating adhesive portion extending in the first direction on at least a portion of the surface of the semiconductor substrate, on which the conductive lines are disposed, and fixing the conductive lines to the semiconductor substrate and the first and second electrodes. The insulating adhesive portion is attached up to an upper part and a side of at least a portion of each conductive line.

A solar cell is disclosed. The solar cell incudes a substrate, a dielectric layer formed on a backside of the substrate, and a plurality of non-contiguous deposited emitter regions having a first polarity on the dielectric layer. The solar cell also includes at least one deposited emitter region having a second polarity on the dielectric layer, laterally disposed to the plurality of non-contiguous deposited emitter regions.

A flexible photovoltaic (PV) cell having enhanced properties of mechanical impact absorption, includes: a semiconductor wafer that is freestanding and carrier-less; having a thickness, and having a first surface, and a having second surface that is opposite to that first surface; and non-transcending gaps within the semiconductor wafer. Each non-transcending gap penetrates from the first surface towards the second surface, but reaches to a depth of between 50 to 99 percent of the thickness of the semiconductor wafer, and does not reach said second surface. Each non-transcending gap does not entirely penetrate through an entirety of the thickness of the semiconductor wafer. The semiconductor wafer maintains between 1 to 50 percent of the thickness of the semiconductor wafer as an intact and non-penetrated thin layer of semiconductor wafer that remains intact and non-penetrated by the non-transcending gaps. The non-transcending gaps in the semiconductor wafer are filled with an elastomer, and they absorb and dissipate mechanical forces.

Methods of fabricating solar cell emitter regions using ion implantation, and resulting solar cells, are described. In an example, a back contact solar cell includes a crystalline silicon substrate having a light-receiving surface and a back surface. A first polycrystalline silicon emitter region is disposed above the crystalline silicon substrate. The first polycrystalline silicon emitter region is doped with dopant impurity species of a first conductivity type and further includes ancillary impurity species different from the dopant impurity species of the first conductivity type. A second polycrystalline silicon emitter region is disposed above the crystalline silicon substrate and is adjacent to but separated from the first polycrystalline silicon emitter region. The second polycrystalline silicon emitter region is doped with dopant impurity species of a second, opposite, conductivity type. First and second conductive contact structures are electrically connected to the first and second polycrystalline silicon emitter regions, respectively.

The disclosure provides an electrode structure of a back contact cell, a back contact cell, a back contact cell module, and a back contact cell system. The electrode structure includes: first fingers, configured to collect a first polarity region; second fingers, configured to collect a second polarity region; a first busbar, disposed on a side of the back contact cell close to a first edge and connected to the first fingers; first pad points; and first connection electrodes, respectively connected to the first busbar and the first pad points. A distance between each of the first pad points and the first edge is greater than a distance between the first busbar and the first edge. The electrode structure can improve the reliability, reduce the costs, increase the product yield, and ensure excellent photoelectric conversion efficiency.