Developments In TOPCon Photo voltaic Cells

Researchers on the Chinese language Academy of Sciences & Zhejiang College have developed a TOPCon backside cell that improves perovskite photo voltaic cells, making them extra environment friendly.

Silicon photo voltaic cells are gaining important traction within the photovoltaic trade, drawing widespread curiosity as a result of their promising future. Particularly, silicon photo voltaic cells geared up with tunnel oxide passivating contact (TOPCon) buildings are rising as a number one know-how in photovoltaics. That is attributed to their exceptionally excessive energy conversion effectivity (PCE), cost-effectiveness, and scalability in mass manufacturing.

Researchers on the Ningbo Institute of Supplies Know-how and Engineering (NIMTE) of the Chinese language Academy of Sciences (CAS), in collaboration with a crew from Zhejiang College, have efficiently developed a extremely passivated TOPCon backside cell. This innovation has led to the creation of perovskite/silicon tandem photo voltaic cells (TSCs) that boast excessive open-circuit voltages (VOCs) and excellent efficiencies.

A number of flaws on the delicate silicon oxide/c-Si interface and insufficient field-effect passivation on textured substrates diminish the VOCs of present TOPCon silicon photo voltaic cells, thereby proscribing their use in high-performance TSCs.

On this analysis, the crew developed extremely passivated p-type TOPCon buildings and double-sided TOPCon backside cells on industrial textured wafers utilizing strategies appropriate with current trade processes, akin to ambient-pressure thermal oxidation and in situ plasma-enhanced chemical vapour deposition.

Refining the oxidation situations, enhancing boron in-diffusion, and optimising aluminium oxide hydrogenation considerably enhanced the passivation high quality of the newly ready p-type TOPCon buildings.

The pattern with these optimised p-type TOPCon buildings exhibited an improved implied open-circuit voltage (iVOC) of 715mV, outperforming conventional fashions.

The open-circuit voltages of the finished double-sided textured TOPCon backside cells elevated from 690mV to 710mV, setting new requirements within the TOPCon backside cell trade.

By combining the newly developed TOPCon backside cells with perovskite prime cells, the ensuing TSCs attain exceptional VOCs of 1.9 V and a PCE of 28.2%. These outcomes place them among the many top-performing 1cm^2 n-i-p sort monolithic perovskite/silicon TSCs.

This achievement underscores the in depth utility prospects of extremely passivated TOPCon backside cells in tandem gadgets and highlights their potential for future commercialization.

Reference: Zetao Ding et al, Extremely passivated TOPCon backside cells for perovskite/silicon tandem photo voltaic cells, Nature Communications (2024). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-52309-2