Apparatus and Method for Solar Cells with Laser Fired Contacts in Thermally Diffused Doped Regions
First Claim
1. A back-contact photovoltaic cell, the cell comprising:
- a doped wafer of semiconductor material having a front surface and a back surface;
a plurality of first highly doped regions disposed with respect to the back surface and having a first conductivity type;
a plurality of second highly doped regions disposed with respect to the back surface and having an opposite conductivity type from the first conductivity type;
a passivation layer disposed over at least a portion of each of the plurality of first highly doped regions, the plurality of second highly doped regions, and the back surface;
a network of conductors disposed with respect to the passivation layer and having a first conductor and a second conductor; and
a plurality of contacts electrically connecting the first highly doped regions with the first conductor and electrically connecting the second highly doped regions with the second conductor.
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Abstract
This invention relates to an apparatus and a method for solar cells with laser fired contacts in thermally diffused doped regions. The cell includes a doped wafer and a plurality of first highly doped regions having a first conductivity type. The cell also includes a plurality of second highly doped regions having an opposite conductivity type from the first conductivity type and a passivation layer disposed over at least a portion of each the plurality of first highly doped regions and the plurality of second highly doped regions. The cell also includes a network of conductors having a first conductor and a second conductor, and a plurality of contacts electrically connecting the first highly doped regions with the first conductor and electrically connecting the second highly doped regions with the second conductor.
105 Citations
40 Claims
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1. A back-contact photovoltaic cell, the cell comprising:
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a doped wafer of semiconductor material having a front surface and a back surface; a plurality of first highly doped regions disposed with respect to the back surface and having a first conductivity type; a plurality of second highly doped regions disposed with respect to the back surface and having an opposite conductivity type from the first conductivity type; a passivation layer disposed over at least a portion of each of the plurality of first highly doped regions, the plurality of second highly doped regions, and the back surface; a network of conductors disposed with respect to the passivation layer and having a first conductor and a second conductor; and a plurality of contacts electrically connecting the first highly doped regions with the first conductor and electrically connecting the second highly doped regions with the second conductor. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 14, 15)
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13. The cell of claim 13, wherein the passivation layer comprises a layer of amorphous silicon and a layer of silicon nitride.
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16. A photovoltaic cell, the cell comprising:
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a doped wafer of semiconductor material having a front surface and a back surface; a plurality of highly doped regions disposed with respect to the front surface and having a conductivity type opposite the doped wafer; a shallow emitter disposed between the plurality of highly doped regions and having a same conductivity type as the highly doped regions; a back surface field region just beneath the back surface, the back surface field region is formed either by a highly doped region having a same conductivity type as the doped wafer, or by an undoped layer of an amorphous silicon alloy and a highly doped layer of a same conductivity type as the doped wafer; a front passivation layer disposed with respect to the highly doped regions and the shallow emitter; a back passivation layer disposed with respect to the back surface field region; a current collection grid disposed with respect to the front passivation layer and electrically connected to the highly doped regions; a conductor disposed with respect to the back passivation layer; and a plurality of contacts electrically connecting the back surface field region with the conductor. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20, 21)
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22. A process of manufacturing back-contact photovoltaic cells, the process comprising:
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applying a first dopant source to a portion of a back surface of a doped wafer of semiconductor material, the first dopant source having a first conductivity type; applying a second dopant source to a different portion of the back surface of the doped wafer of semiconductor material, the second dopant source having an opposite conductivity type from the first conductivity type; diffusing the first dopant source and the second dopant source into the doped wafer to form a plurality of first highly doped regions and a plurality of second highly doped regions; cleaning the back surface; laying a passivation layer over the back surface, the plurality of first highly doped regions, and the plurality of second highly doped regions; applying a network of conductors to a portion of the passivation layer; and forming contacts between the network of conductors and both the first highly doped regions and the second highly doped regions. - View Dependent Claims (23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35)
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36. A process of manufacturing photovoltaic cells, the process comprising:
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applying a dopant source to a portion of a front surface of a doped wafer of semiconductor material, the dopant source having a conductivity type opposite the doped wafer; applying a dilute dopant source having a conductivity type opposite the doped wafer to the remainder of the front surface of the doped wafer; applying a dopant source to a portion of a back surface of a doped wafer;
the dopant source having the same conductivity type as the doped wafer;diffusing the dopant sources and the dilute dopant source into the doped wafer to form highly doped regions, a shallow emitter, and a back surface field region; laying a passivation layer over the highly doped regions, the shallow emitter, the back surface and the back surface field region to form a front passivation layer and a back passivation layer; applying a current collection grid on the front passivation layer; applying a conductor on the back passivation layer; forming front-contacts between the highly doped regions and the current collection grid; and forming back-contacts between the back surface field region and the conductor. - View Dependent Claims (37, 38, 39, 40)
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Specification