Provided are a solar cell and a light emitting device with low leakage current and low cost, using ZnO fine particles. A p-type ZnO layer (p-type layer) (14) made primarily of p-type ZnO fine particles (931) is formed. P-side electrodes (16) are formed at a plurality of regions on the p-type layer (14). A thin insulating layer (18) is formed between an n-type layer (13) and the p-type layer (14). In the insulating layer (18), openings are formed at regions A each not overlapping the p-side electrodes (16) and being apart from them in a plan view. In the configuration, by thus making the p-side electrodes (16) apart from the regions A, the length of a current path in the p-type layer (14) can be made substantially larger than the layer thickness. Accordingly, even when n-type ZnO fine particles (932) are incorporated in the p-type layer (14), it is possible to interpose some of the p-type ZnO fine particles (931) along a leakage current path caused by the incorporation, and thereby cut off the current path.

Methods of fabricating solar cell emitter regions with differentiated P-type and N-type architectures and incorporating dotted diffusion, and resulting solar cells, are described. In an example, a 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 in a plurality of non-continuous trenches in the back surface of the substrate.

The solar cell of embodiments includes a transparent first electrode, a photoelectric conversion layer mainly containing cuprous oxide on the first electrode, an n-type layer on the photoelectric conversion layer, and a transparent second electrode on the n-type layer. A mixed region or/and a mixed layer are present on the n-type layer side of the photoelectric conversion layer, and the mixed region and the mixed layer contain elements belonging to a first group, a second group, and a third group. The first group is one or more elements selected from the group consisting of Zn and Sn, the second group is one or more elements selected from the group consisting of Y, Sc, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Ni, Zr, B, Al, Ga, Nb, Mo, Ti, F, Cl, Br, and I, and the third group is one or more elements selected from the group consisting of Ge and Si.

Discussed is a solar cell including a first conductive region positioned at a front surface of a semiconductor substrate and containing impurities of a first conductivity type or a second conductivity type, a second conductive region positioned at a back surface of the semiconductor substrate and containing impurities of a conductivity type opposite a conductivity type of impurities of the first conductive region, a first electrode positioned on the front surface of the semiconductor substrate and connected to the first conductive region, and a second electrode positioned on the back surface of the semiconductor substrate and connected to the second conductive region. Each of the first and second electrodes includes metal particles and a glass frit.

A production method is provided in which submicronic particles containing silicon are incorporated into a matrix, wherein, during the incorporation of the particles, the particles are in a compacted state with a bulk density of more than 0.10 grams per cubic centimeter, and the compacted particles have a specific surface area at least 70% of that of the particles considered separately without contact between each other.

A high efficiency configuration for a string of solar cells comprises series-connected solar cells arranged in an overlapping shingle pattern. Front and back surface metallization patterns may provide further increases in efficiency.

The present invention provides methods and systems for manufacturing process control of photovoltaic products. Some embodiments relate to a method for tracking wafers for photovoltaic products with respect to which production tool processed them and their position within that production tool. Some embodiments relate to measuring and characterizing the critical-to-quality parameters of the partially-finished photovoltaic products emerging from the production tool in question. Some embodiments relate to display and visualization of the measured parameters on a computer screen, such that the parameters of each production unit can be directly observed in the context of which production tools processed them, which location within a specific production tool they were located in during processing, and which batch, or in the case of continuous processing, what time, the unit(s) was/where processed.

A photovoltaic cell is proposed. The photovoltaic cell includes a substrate of semiconductor material, and a plurality of contact terminals each one arranged on a corresponding contact area of the substrate for collecting electric charges being generated in the substrate by the light. For at least one of the contact areas, the substrate includes at least one porous semiconductor region extending from the contact area into the substrate for anchoring the whole corresponding contact terminal on the substrate. In the solution according to an embodiment of the invention, each porous semiconductor region has a porosity decreasing moving away from the contact area inwards the substrate. An etching module and an electrolytic module for processing photovoltaic cells, a production line for producing photovoltaic cells, and a process for producing photovoltaic cells are also proposed.

A method for manufacturing a solar cell module, the method includes a cell forming operation for forming a first solar cell and a second solar cell by, for each of the first and second solar cells, attaching a first auxiliary electrode and a second auxiliary electrode to a back surface of a semiconductor substrate on which a plurality of first electrodes and a plurality of second electrodes are formed; and a cell string forming operation for connecting the first auxiliary electrode of the first solar cell to the second auxiliary electrode of the second solar cell through an interconnector to form a cell string.

A photovoltaic solar structure comprises at least two electrically connected solar cell regions forming a shade management block. The solar cell regions have a light receiving frontside and a passivated backside opposite the light receiving frontside and a first metallization over the passivated backside has base and emitter metallization contacting base and emitter regions of the solar cell regions. An electrically insulating backplane is over the backsides of the two solar cells regions. The electrically insulating backplane covers the first metallization of the two solar cell regions. A second metallization is over the electrically insulating backplane and contacts the first metallization through the electrically insulating backplane. The second metallization has at least an opposite polarity electrical connection electrically connecting the solar cell regions of the shade management block. The opposite polarity connection has positive and negative electrical polarities. The opposite polarity electrical connection is connected to a bypass diode.