SOLAR CELL, MANUFACTURING METHOD THEREFOR AND BATTERY ASSEMBLY
20250048771 ยท 2025-02-06
Inventors
Cpc classification
International classification
Abstract
In one aspect, a manufacturing method for a solar cell comprises: an oxidation impurity removal and cleaning step carried out between a wet texturing step and a boron/phosphorus diffusion step. The oxidation impurity removal and cleaning step comprises: heating a silicon wafer undergoing wet texturing performed by means of basket loading, so as to form first oxide layers to adsorb impurities of the silicon wafer; and removing the first oxide layers on the front surface and the back surface of the silicon wafer.
Claims
1. A method for preparing a solar cell, the preparation method comprising: performing a texturing process and a boron or phosphorus diffusion process sequentially, wherein the preparation method further comprises, between the texturing process and the boron or phosphorus diffusion process: heating a silicon wafer that has been wet-textured loaded in a wafer cassette to form a first oxide layer on both front and back sides of the silicon wafer to absorb impurities in the silicon wafer; and removing the first oxide layer on the front and back sides of the silicon wafer.
2. The method for preparing the solar cell according to claim 1, wherein a thickness of the first oxide layer is within a range of 4 nm to 5 nm.
3. The method for preparing the solar cell according to claim 1, wherein the silicon wafer is an n-type monocrystalline silicon wafer, and the solar cell comprises a passivation/anti-reflection film, a passivation layer, a p-type emitter, an n-type monocrystalline silicon wafer substrate, a tunneling oxide layer, an n-type polysilicon film, and an anti-reflection film that are stacked.
4. The method for preparing the solar cell according to claim 1, wherein the heating method comprises: heating the textured silicon wafer to a first preset temperature, and preserving the temperature for a first preset time; wherein the first preset temperature is within a range of 600 C. to 800 C., and the first preset time is within a range of 30 s to 60 s.
5. The method for preparing the solar cell according to claim 4, wherein the first preset temperature is within a range of 700 C. to 800 C.
6. The method for preparing the solar cell according to claim 1, wherein the method of removing the first oxide layer on the front and back sides of the silicon wafer comprises: cleaning the silicon wafer using a cleaning agent, wherein a cleaning time is within a range of 30 s to 50 s, and the cleaning agent comprises HF.
7. The method for preparing the solar cell according to claim 6, wherein the cleaning agent comprises the HF with a volume concentration of 15% to 30%.
8. The method for preparing the solar cell according to claim 6, wherein the cleaning agent further comprises HCl.
9. The method for preparing the solar cell according to claim 8, wherein the cleaning agent further comprises the HCl with a volume concentration of 5% to 10%.
10. The method for preparing the solar cell according to claim 8, wherein the cleaning agent comprises the HF and the HCl with a volume ratio of 3:1.
11. The method for preparing the solar cell according to claim 6, wherein after the cleaning the silicon wafer using the cleaning agent, a second oxide layer is formed on a surface of the silicon wafer, and the boron or phosphorus diffusion process is performed on the silicon wafer formed with the second oxide layer on a surface thereof.
12. The method for preparing the solar cell according to claim 11, wherein the method of forming the second oxide layer comprises: purging the silicon wafer with ozone.
13. (canceled)
14. (canceled)
15. (canceled)
Description
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0035] In order to describe the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present disclosure or the conventional art more clearly, the accompanying drawings required for describing the embodiments or for describing the conventional art will be briefly introduced as follows.
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REFERENCE NUMERALS
[0044] 10: textured silicon wafer; 20: impurities; 30: first oxide layer.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS
[0045] The implementation solutions of the present application will be described in detail below with reference to embodiments, but those skilled in the art will understand that the following embodiments are only used to illustrate the present application and should not be regarded as limiting the scope of the present application. If the specific conditions are not specified in the embodiments, the conditions should be carried out according to the conventional conditions or the conditions recommended by the manufacturer. If the manufacturer of the reagents or equipment used is not indicated, they are all conventional products that can be purchased commercially.
[0046] The following is a detailed description of a TOPCon cell and method for preparing the same, and a cell assembly according to an embodiment of the present application.
[0047] For N-TOPCon cells, the current mainstream preparation process includes: N-type silicon wafer-texturing-boron diffusion-backside etching-tunneling oxidation-in-situ doped amorphous silicon-wraparound plating-front side aluminum oxide-front side silicon nitride-back side silicon nitride-printing and sintering-testing and sorting.
[0048] However, the inventors have found that the TOPCon cells prepared using traditional preparation process often turned black during an EL test.
[0049] The inventors analyzed the reason for the blackening phenomenon and believed that in the development and production of N-type high-efficiency TOPCon cells, a silicon wafer is loaded in a wafer cassette during wet texturing, and the wafer cassette and the silicon wafer are soaked in a texturing tank together. There are slight residues of additive organic matter and alkali crystals at the contact position between the textured silicon wafer 10 and the teeth of the wafer cassette. Impurities 20 such as additive organic matter and alkali crystals remaining on the surface of the textured silicon wafer 10 are shown in
[0050] The inventors believed that in the preparation process of the TOPCon cells, the wafer cassette mark that appears during texturing will reduce the uniformity of the subsequent boron diffusion or phosphorus diffusion process, thereby reducing the yield and efficiency of the TOPCon cells.
[0051] Based on this, the inventors provide a method for preparing a TOPCon cell, including oxidation impurity removal and cleaning processes performed between a wet texturing process and a boron or phosphorus diffusion process. The oxidation impurity removal and cleaning processes include: heating a silicon wafer that has been wet-textured loaded in a wafer cassette to form a first oxide layer on both front and back sides of the silicon wafer to absorb impurities in the silicon wafer; and removing the first oxide layer on the front and back sides of the silicon wafer.
[0052] After wet texturing the silicon wafer loaded in the wafer cassette, the textured silicon wafer 10 is heated, so as to form a first oxide layer 30 on the surface of the textured silicon wafer 10 to absorb the impurities 20, such as organic matter and alkali crystals attached to the surface of the textured silicon wafer 10. A schematic cross-sectional view of the first oxide layer 30 formed on the surface of the textured silicon wafer 10 after wet texturing is shown in
[0053] Then, the first oxide layer 30 adsorbed with the impurities 20 is removed, which can improve the cleanliness of the surface of the textured silicon wafer 10, thereby further improving the uniformity of the subsequent boron diffusion or phosphorus diffusion process, avoiding wet wafer cassette mark in the TOPCon cell, and improving the quality and efficiency of the TOPCon cell. If these impurities 20 are not eliminated or improved, these defects at the contact position between the silicon wafer and the teeth of the wet wafer cassette will be multiplied after the boron diffusion process, resulting in severe blackening defects at this position under the EL test, thus seriously affecting the yield and efficiency of the TOPCon cell. A schematic cross-sectional view of the silicon wafer after removing the first oxide layer 30 adsorbed with the impurities 20 is shown in
[0054] The method for preparing the TOPCon cell according to an embodiment of the present application will be further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawing.
[0055] Referring to
[0056] In step S1, a texturing process is performed.
[0057] The front and back sides of the silicon wafer are textured to form a textured surface on the surface of the silicon wafer, so as to increase the reflectivity of light and remove some impurities from the silicon matrix.
[0058] During texturing, the silicon wafer may be loaded in a wafer cassette, and the wafer cassette loaded with the silicon wafer is immersed in a texturing tank containing a texturing agent such as KOH. The texturing agent in the texturing tank may be the KOH with a volume concentration of 1% to 20%, and a temperature of the texturing step may range from 40 C. to 80 C. Then, the textured silicon wafer is acid washed, water washed, slowly pulled, and dried at a temperature of 80 C. to 100 C. sequentially. HF with a volume concentration of 1% to 30% may be used for acid washing.
[0059] In step S2, an oxidation cleaning process is performed.
[0060] The textured silicon wafer 10 that has been wet-textured loaded in the wafer cassette is heated to form the first oxide layer 30 to absorb the impurities 20 on the surface of the textured silicon wafer 10. Then the first oxide layer 30 on the front and back sides of the textured silicon wafer 10 is removed.
[0061] During the texturing process, after wet texturing the silicon wafer loaded in the wafer cassette to obtain the textured silicon wafer 10, some impurities 20 such as additives and alkali crystals will inevitably remain at the contact area between the textured silicon wafer 10 and the teeth position of the wafer cassette, and there will be defects at the contact position between the silicon wafer and the wafer cassette. For example, in a quadrilateral plate-shaped N-TOPCon cell, the N-TOPCon cell has a first side in contact with the wafer cassette and a second side not in contact with the wafer cassette. Some impurities 20 such as additives and alkali crystals remain on the first side in contact with the wafer cassette, thus forming defects on the first side. If these defects are not improved, these defects will be amplified in the subsequent boron diffusion process, causing the first side for contacting with the wafer cassette to appear to be blackened during the EL test, thus affecting the quality and efficiency of the N-TOPCon cell.
[0062] After wet texturing the silicon wafer loaded in the wafer cassette, the textured silicon wafer 10 is heated to form the first oxide layer 30 on the surface of the textured silicon wafer 10 to absorb the impurities 20 such as organic matter and alkali crystals attached to the surface of the textured silicon wafer 10. Then, the first oxide layer 30 adsorbed with the impurities 20 is removed, which can improve the cleanliness of the surface of the textured silicon wafer 10, thereby further improving the uniformity of the subsequent boron diffusion or phosphorus diffusion process, and improving the quality and efficiency of the N-TOPCon cell.
[0063] The present application does not limit how to heat the textured silicon wafer 10 to form the first oxide layer 30. In some possible implementations, the textured silicon wafer 10 is heated to a first preset temperature ranging from 600 C. to 800 C., and the temperature is preserved for a first preset time ranging from 30 s to 60 s.
[0064] Exemplarily, the first preset temperature includes, but is not limited to, one of 600 C., 650 C., 700 C., 750 C. and 800 C. or a range between any two.
[0065] Exemplarily, the first preset time includes but is not limited to, one of 30 s, 35 s, 40 s, 50 s and 60 s or a range between any two.
[0066] The textured silicon wafer 10 is heated to the first preset temperature of 600 C. to 800 C. and preserved for the first preset time of 30 s to 60 s, which can ensure that the first oxide layer 30 is formed to absorb the impurities 20 on the surface of the textured silicon wafer 10. Meanwhile, it can not only avoid that the impurity 20 cannot be effectively adsorbed due to the heating temperature being too low or the holding time being too short, but also prevent the impurities 20 adsorbed on the first oxide layer 30 from diffusing into the interior of the textured silicon wafer due to the heating temperature being too high or the holding time being too long, thus affecting the quality and efficiency of the N-TOPCon cell.
[0067] In order to improve the oxidation treatment efficiency of the textured silicon wafer 10 and control the oxidation impurity absorption quality of the textured silicon wafer 10, in some possible implementations, a stepping heating furnace can be used to heat the textured silicon wafer 10. By setting the length of the heating furnace and the conveying speed (roller conveyance) of the textured silicon wafer 10 in the heating furnace, the heating time of the textured silicon wafer 10 is controlled, thereby reducing the error in the oxidation treatment process.
[0068] The present application does not limit the specific heating time and heating temperature. Relevant personnel can make corresponding adjustments as needed while ensuring that the first oxide layer 30 can be formed on the surface of the textured silicon wafer 10.
[0069] In some possible implementations, the textured silicon wafer 10 can be placed in a pure oxygen environment or a high-pressure or low-pressure environment for heating. Since an oxidation rate and a diffusion rate of impurities will change in the pure oxygen environment or the low-pressure or high-pressure environment, relevant personnel can slightly reduce or increase the first preset temperature, and slightly extend or shorten the holding time.
[0070] The present application does not limit how to remove the first oxide layer 30 adsorbed with the impurities 20 on the surface of the textured silicon wafer 10, and relevant personnel can make corresponding adjustments as needed.
[0071] In some possible implementations, the textured silicon wafer 10 with the first oxide layer 30 formed on the surface can be cleaned using a cleaning agent including HF.
[0072] Using the cleaning agent containing the HF to clean the surface of the textured silicon wafer 10 can not only effectively remove the first oxide layer 30 and the impurities 20, but also modify a textured surface of the textured silicon wafer 10, and passivate the textured silicon wafer 10.
[0073] The present application does not limit the specific composition of the cleaning agent. In some possible implementations, the cleaning agent further includes HCl.
[0074] For example, the cleaning agent includes the HF with a volume concentration of 15% to 30% and the HCl with a volume concentration of 5% to 10%.
[0075] Further, the cleaning agent includes the HF with a volume concentration of 15% to 30% and the HCl with a volume concentration of 5% to 10% with a volume ratio of 3:1.
[0076] The present application does not limit the specific cleaning time. In some possible implementations, the textured silicon wafer 10 is cleaned using the cleaning agent including the HF with a volume concentration of 15% to 30% and the HCl with a volume concentration of 5% to 10% with a volume ratio of 3:1, and the cleaning time is within a range of 30 s to 50 s. Exemplarily, the cleaning time includes but is not limited to, one of 30 s, 35 s, 40 s, 50 s and 60 s or a range between any two.
[0077] In order to further improve the quality and efficiency of the prepared N-TOPCon cell, in some possible implementations, a thin second oxide layer can be formed on the surface of the textured silicon wafer 10 after removing the first oxide layer 30, to perform surface modification and passivation treatment, making the subsequent boron diffusion treatment process more uniform.
[0078] Furthermore, a second oxide layer can be formed on the surface of the silicon wafer by purging ozone. Alternatively, the second oxide layer is formed by passivation treatment using nitric acid.
[0079] In step S3, a post-processing process is performed on the textured silicon wafer 10 obtained in step S2, to prepare an N-TOPCon cell.
[0080] The step S3 can use the conventional N-TOPCon cell preparation process. In the preparation process of the N-TOPCon cell in the example of this application, without changing the original N-TOPCon cell preparation steps, an oxidation cleaning step is performed between the texturing process and the boron diffusion process, so that the wafer cassette mark produced during wet texturing can be removed and the uniformity of the subsequent boron diffusion can be improved, thereby improving the quality of the prepared N-TOPCon cell.
[0081] In the present application, the step of post-processing the silicon wafer after oxidation cleaning in step S2 is feasible, as long as the N-TOPCon cell can be prepared. This application does not specifically limit the post-processing process.
[0082] Exemplarily, a boron diffusion process is performed on the textured silicon wafer 10 after oxidation and impurity removal to form a PN junction. The step of boron diffusion of the textured silicon wafer 10 may include: placing the textured silicon wafer 10 in a boron diffusion tube, introducing a boron source at a temperature of 700 C. to 900 C. for 20 s to 1000 s, and then pushing the junction at a temperature of 900 C. to 1200 C. for 100 s to 5000 s.
[0083] Exemplarily, an etching process is performed on the boron-diffused silicon wafer. The etching method may include: placing the boron-diffused silicon wafer in an etching tank containing etchants such as HNO.sub.3 and HF.
[0084] Exemplarily, a tunneling oxidation process is performed on the etched silicon wafer. The step of the tunneling oxidation includes: heating the etched silicon wafer to 600 C. for oxidation to form a tunneling oxide layer on the back side of the silicon wafer.
[0085] Exemplarily, a doping amorphous silicon process is performed on the tunnel-oxidized silicon wafer. The step of doping amorphous silicon includes: introducing a mixed gas of PH.sub.3 and SiH.sub.4 at a process temperature of 400 C., to in-situ dope amorphous silicon into the silicon wafer obtained after the tunneling oxidation step.
[0086] Exemplarily, an annealing process is performed on the above silicon wafer doped with amorphous silicon. The annealing step includes: placing the silicon wafer at a temperature of 800 C. for about 60 minutes for constant temperature annealing, so that the doped amorphous silicon becomes phosphorus-doped polysilicon.
[0087] Exemplarily, a wraparound plating process is performed on the above annealed silicon wafer. The step of wraparound plating include: growing silicon oxide on the back side of the annealed silicon wafer, washing silicon oxide on a front wraparound plating area of the silicon wafer with HF, and then placing the silicon wafer in an alkali polishing tank (a volume concentration of KOH is 1% to 20%, a temperature is 40 C. to 90 C., and an amount of alkali polishing additive is 2 L to 20 L), to perform alkali polishing to remove polysilicon wraparound plating on the front side of the silicon wafer.
[0088] Exemplarily, a front side deposition of aluminum oxide, a front side deposition of silicon nitride, and a back side deposition of silicon nitride are performed on the silicon wafer after removing the wraparound plating. The step of depositing front side aluminum oxide includes: depositing front side aluminum oxide by thermal atomic deposition (ALD), and a process temperature is within a range of 200 C. to 250 C. The step of depositing front side silicon nitride and back side silicon nitride includes: depositing a front side silicon nitride film and a back side silicon nitride film by using a plasma chemical vapor deposition method, and introducing NH.sub.3 and SiH.sub.4 gases during deposition.
[0089] Exemplarily, a screen-printing process and a sintering process are performed on the silicon wafer deposited with front and back silicon nitride films.
[0090] In some possible implementations, an embodiment of this application provides a method for preparing a P-TOPCon cell, including: texturing: wet alkali texturing; oxidation cleaning: heating the textured silicon wafer 10, to form a first oxide layer 30, and removing the first oxide layer 30 adsorbed with impurities 20 by using a cleaning agent; phosphorus diffusion: phosphorus doping; etching: polishing the back side of the silicon wafer and removing edge PN junctions; front/back film: plating front-side/back-side passivation anti-reflection film; and screen-printing: drying and sintering the back silver paste, aluminum paste and front silver paste that have been screen printed to form a contact electrode.
[0091] An embodiment of this application further provides a TOPCon cell prepared by the above preparation method.
[0092] Exemplarily, an embodiment of the present application provides an N-TOPCon cell prepared by the preparation method as shown in
[0093] The N-TOPCon cell is of a quadrilateral thin plate structure, with a first side in contact with the wafer cassette and a second side not in contact with the wafer cassette during texturing. Generally, the second side that is not in contact with the wafer cassette usually does not appear to be blackened, while the second side in contact with the wafer cassette will exhibit the wafer cassette mark. Therefore, the degree of blackening between the two is quite different, in other words, the second side is almost not blackened, and the first side has obvious abnormal blackening. In the N-TOPCon cell provided in this embodiment, neither the first side nor the second side will appear to be blackened during the EL test, which can avoid the occurrence of the wafer cassette mark.
[0094] An embodiment of this application further provides a cell assembly. The cell assembly includes a plurality of N-TOPCon cells described above.
[0095] This application does not limit the specific arrangement of the cell assembly, and relevant personnel can make corresponding adjustments as needed.
[0096] In a possible implementation, the cell assembly includes a plurality of N-TOPCon cells, and the plurality of N-TOPCon cells may be connected in series.
[0097] Exemplarily, the photocell assembly includes 64 or 72 N-TOPCon cells.
[0098] In a possible implementation, the cell assembly further includes a photovoltaic glass layer. The photovoltaic glass layer covers an upper surface of the N-TOPCon cell to protect the N-TOPCon cell. The photovoltaic glass in the photovoltaic glass layer is also called photoelectric glass. The photovoltaic glass is a tempered low-iron glass with very good light transmittance and high hardness, so it can adapt to large temperature differences between day and night and harsh weather environments, thereby protecting the N-TOPCon cell.
[0099] Likewise, in a possible implementation, the cell assembly further includes a photovoltaic panel. The photovoltaic panel has good insulation, waterproofness and aging resistance. The photovoltaic panel is placed on the back side of the N-TOPCon cell to further protect the N-TOPCon cell. The photovoltaic panel can also be made from tempered glass.
[0100] Further, in a possible implementation, the cell assembly further includes an ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) film layer with good light transmittance. Since the N-TOPCon cell is very fragile, the photovoltaic glass layer cannot be directly attached to the upper surface of the N-TOPCon cell, and the EVA film is required to play a bonding role in the middle.
[0101] In order to improve the stability of the cell assembly, the cell assembly can also be provided with a frame, and the plurality of N-TOPCon cells are mounted in the frame to support and protect the cell assembly.
[0102] The N-TOPCon cell provided as an embodiment in this application will be described in detail below with reference to examples.
Example 1
[0103] Example 1 of the present application provided an N-TOPCon cell, which was prepared by the following method.
[0104] Using the N-type silicon wafer as the original silicon wafer, the silicon wafer was texturized, oxidized and cleaned, boron diffused, alkali polished, doped with polysilicon, annealed, cleaned by using a RCA cleaning method, plated front and back sides silicon nitride, and screen printed sequentially.
[0105] The texturing conditions were as follows: a volume concentration of KOH was 20%, and a texturing temperature was 40 C. The oxidation cleaning conditions were as follows: the textured silicon wafer was heated to 600 C. and preserved the temperature for 60 seconds, and HF with a volume concentration of 15% and HCL with a volume concentration of 5% were configured with a cleaning agent in a volume ratio of 3:1, cleaning for 50 seconds. The boron diffusion conditions were as follows: the oxidized and cleaned silicon wafer was placed in a boron diffusion tube, and a boron source was introduced at a temperature of 700 C. for 500 seconds, and then the junction was pushed at a temperature of 1000 C. for 1000 seconds. The conditions for alkali polishing were as follows: the above silicon wafer was placed in an alkali polishing tank (KOH with a volume concentration of 10%, a temperature of 40 C., and an amount of 10 L of alkali polishing additive). The conditions for doping polysilicon were as follows: a mixed gas of PH.sub.3 and SiH.sub.4 was introduced, and a process temperature was 600 C. The annealing conditions were as follows: constant temperature annealing was performed at a temperature of 850 C. for 60 minutes. The RCA conditions were as follows: the silicon oxide was washed away with HF with a volume concentration of 20%. The conditions for plating the front and back sides silicon nitride were as follows: the front and back sides silicon nitride films were deposited on the surface of the silicon wafer by using a plasma chemical vapor deposition method, NH.sub.3 and SiH.sub.4 gases were introduced during deposition, a process temperature was 500 C., and a pressure was 200 Pa. The screen-printing conditions were as follows: the N-TOPCon cell was prepared by screen printing using a DUP screen.
Example 2
[0106] Example 2 of the present application provided an N-TOPCon cell. The difference from Example 1 was that the textured silicon wafer was heated to 800 C. and preserved the temperature for 30 seconds in the preparation method.
Comparative Example 1
[0107] Comparative Example 1 of the present application provided an N-TOPCon cell. The difference from Example 1 was that the preparation method includes texturing, boron diffusion, alkali polishing, polysilicon doping, annealing, RCA cleaning, front and back sides silicon nitride plating, and screen printing. The specific conditions of each process were the same as in Example 1.
Comparative Example 2
[0108] Comparative Example 2 of the present application provided an N-TOPCon cell. The difference from Example 1 was that the textured silicon wafer was heated to 400 C. during oxidation cleaning.
Comparative Example 3
[0109] Comparative Example 3 of the present application provided an N-TOPCon cell. The difference from Example 1 was that the textured silicon wafer was heated to 1000 C. during the oxidation cleaning.
EXAMPLE
[0110] An EL test was performed on the N-TOPCon cells provided in Examples 1 and 2 and Comparative Examples 1 and 2, to observe their blackening phenomenon.
[0111] The test result of Example 1 is shown in
[0112] The results are analyzed as follows, according to the comparison diagrams between Examples 1 to 2 and Comparative Example 1, it can be seen that the N-TOPCon cells provided by Examples 1 and 2 of the present application did not appear to be blackened during the EL test, which can avoid the occurrence of the wafer cassette mark. The N-TOPCon cell provided by Comparative Example 1 has an obvious wafer cassette mark.
[0113] According to the comparison diagrams between Examples 1 to 2 and Comparative Example 2, it can be seen that the N-TOPCon cell provided by Comparative Example 2 still has an obvious wafer cassette mark.
[0114] The above descriptions are only preferred embodiments of the present application and are not intended to limit the present application. For those skilled in the art, the present application may have various modifications and changes. Any modifications, equivalent replacements, improvements, etc. made within the spirit and principles of this application shall be included in the protection scope of this application.