Photovoltaic devices with electroplated metal grids

• US 9,461,189 B2
• Filed: 10/03/2013
• Issued: 10/04/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 10/04/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Tesla Inc.
• Original Assignee: SolarCity Corporation (Tesla Inc.)
• Inventors: Fu, Jianming, Heng, Jiunn Benjamin, Beitel, Christopher J., Xu, Zheng
• Primary Examiner(s): LEONG, SUSAN DANG
• Application Number:
  US14/045,163
• Publication Number:
  US 20140096823A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,097 Days
• Field of Search: 136/244, 136/251, 136/252, 136/256
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 31/0201 comprising specially adapted module bus-bar structures
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 31/022425 for solar cells
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 31/022433 Particular geometry of the grid contacts
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 31/068 the potential barriers being only of the PN homojunction type, e.g. bulk silicon PN homojunction solar cells or thin film polycrystalline silicon PN homojunction solar cells
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 31/0684 double emitter cells, e.g. bifacial solar cells
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 31/0747 comprising a heterojunction of crystalline and amorphous materials, e.g. heterojunction with intrinsic thin layer
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 31/1804 comprising only elements of Group IV of the Periodic Table
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 10/547 Monocrystalline silicon PV cells
• CPC Class Codes: Y02P 70/50 Manufacturing or production processes characterised by the final manufactured product

Abstract

One embodiment of the present invention provides a solar cell. The solar cell includes a photovoltaic structure and a front-side metal grid situated above the photovoltaic structure. The front-side metal grid also includes one or more electroplated metal layers. The front-side metal grid includes one or more finger lines, and each end of a respective finger line is coupled to a corresponding end of an adjacent finger line via an additional metal line, thus ensuring that the respective finger line has no open end.

Claims

1. A solar cell, comprising:

a photovoltaic structure; and

a first metallic grid positioned on a first side of the photovoltaic structure, wherein the first metallic grid includes one or more finger lines, wherein ends of a first finger line are coupled to corresponding ends of an adjacent finger line via two metal lines, wherein the first finger line, the adjacent finger line, and the metal lines form a loop.

2. The solar cell of claim 1, wherein a respective metal line is located near an edge of the solar cell, and wherein the metal line has a width that is larger than a width of the first finger line.

3. The solar cell of claim 1, wherein the first metallic grid further includes one or more electroplated metal layers and a metal adhesive layer situated between the electroplated metal layers and the photovoltaic structure, wherein the metal adhesive layer further comprises one or more of:

Cu, Al, Co, W, Cr, Mo, Ni, Ti, Ta, titanium nitride, titanium tungsten, titanium silicide, titanium silicon nitride, tantalum nitride, tantalum silicon nitride, nickel vanadium, tungsten nitride, and their combinations.

4. The solar cell of claim 3, wherein the photovoltaic structure comprises a transparent conductive oxide layer, and wherein the metal adhesive layer is in direct contact with the transparent conductive oxide layer.

5. The solar cell of claim 3, wherein the electroplated metal layers include one or more of:

a Cu layer;

an Ag layer; and

a Sn layer.

6. The solar cell of claim 3, wherein the first metallic grid further includes a metal seed layer positioned between the electroplated metal layers and photovoltaic structure.

7. The solar cell of claim 6, wherein the metal seed layer is formed using a physical vapor deposition (PVD) technique, including one of:

evaporation and sputtering deposition.

8. The solar cell of claim 1, wherein a predetermined edge portion of the first finger line has a width that is larger than a width of a center portion of the first finger line.

9. The solar cell of claim 1, wherein the photovoltaic structure includes:

a base layer comprising Si; and

an emitter layer positioned on a first side of the base layer, wherein the emitter layer includes at least one of;

regions diffused with dopants located within the base layer;

a poly Si layer diffused with dopants positioned on the first side of the base layer; and

a doped amorphous Si (a-Si) layer positioned on the first side of the base layer.

10. The solar cell of claim 9, wherein the dopants include one of:

phosphorus; and

boron.

11. The solar cell of claim 1, further comprising a second metallic grid positioned on a second side of the photovoltaic structure, wherein the second metallic grid includes one or more electroplated metal layers, wherein the second metallic grid includes one or more finger lines, and wherein an end of a second finger line is coupled to a corresponding end of an adjacent finger line via a second metal line, thus ensuring that the second finger line has no open end.

17. The solar cell of claim 1, wherein an intersection between a respective metal line and the first finger line is rounded or chamfered.

12. A metallic grid for collecting current from a photovoltaic structure, comprising:

a first finger line positioned on a first surface of the photovoltaic structure;

a second finger line positioned on the first surface of the photovoltaic structure, wherein the second finger line is substantially parallel to the first finger line; and

short metal lines connecting ends of the first finger line to corresponding ends of the second finger line,

wherein the first finger line, the second finger line, and the short metal lines form a loop.

13. The metallic grid of claim 12, wherein a respective short metal line is located near an edge of the photovoltaic structure, and wherein the short metal line has a width that is larger than a width of the first finger line.

14. The metallic grid of claim 12, wherein the first and second finger lines include one or more electroplated metal layers and a metal adhesive layer situated between the electroplated metal layers and the photovoltaic structure, wherein the metal adhesive layer further comprises one or more of:

Cu, Al, Co, W, Cr, Mo, Ni, Ti, Ta, titanium nitride, titanium tungsten, titanium silicide, titanium silicon nitride, tantalum nitride, tantalum silicon nitride, nickel vanadium, tungsten nitride, and their combinations.

15. The metallic grid of claim 14, wherein the electroplated metal layers include one or more of:

a Cu layer;

an Ag layer; and

a Sn layer.

16. The metallic grid of claim 12, wherein a predetermined edge portion of the first finger line has a width that is larger than a width of a center portion of the first finger line.

18. The metallic grid of claim 12, wherein an intersection between a respective short metal line and the first finger line is rounded or chamfered.