Maximizing carrier extraction in hybrid back-contact silicon solar cells
TL;DR
Hybrid back-contact silicon solar cells achieve 27.62% efficiency by optimizing a multifunctional front layer for light trapping and passivation, improving rear contacts, and increasing c-Si thickness to 160-μm.
Key Takeaways
- •Hybrid BC cells combine TOPCon n-type and SHJ p-type contacts with IBC structures for high performance.
- •A multifunctional front layer enhances light trapping and passivation, boosting efficiency.
- •Improved rear carrier-selective contacts and increased c-Si thickness (160-μm) lead to certified 27.62% efficiency.
Tags
Abstract
Hybrid back-contact (BC) silicon solar cells 1-3 combine the strengths of TOPCon-derived 4-7 n-type contacts, SHJ-derived 8-12 p-type contacts, and interdigitated BC (IBC)13,14 device structures. Though high performance in the form of 27.8% efficiency has been demonstrated,1 the understanding of the fundamental advantages of the hybrid BC architecture over conventional BC cells (e.g. eliminating front-surface metallization shading 3) remains unexplored. Here we take advantage of the design flexibility of the hybrid BC architecture to use a multifunctional front layer for both light trapping and passivation. Meanwhile, we improved carrier collection and process compatibility of the rear carrier-selective contacts. We also show the optimal c-Si absorber thickness is increased to 160-μm, leading to a certified efficiency of 27.62% for industrially compatible c-Si solar cells.
Access Nature and 54 other Nature Portfolio journals
Get Nature+, our best-value online-access subscription
$32.99 / 30 days
cancel any time
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 51 print issues and online access
$199.00 per year
only $3.90 per issue
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Similar content being viewed by others

Silicon solar cells with hybrid back contacts


Total-area world-record efficiency of 27.03% for 350.0 cm2 commercial-sized single-junction silicon solar cells
Author information
These authors contributed equally: Zilong Zheng, Xiqi Yang, Jiaxing Wang, Qinghua Zeng
Authors and Affiliations
State Key Laboratory of Materials Low-Carbon Recycling, Beijing Key Lab of Microstructure and Properties of Advanced Materials, College of Materials Science and Engineering, Beijing University of Technology, Beijing, P. R. China
Zilong Zheng, Xiqi Yang, Jiaxing Wang, Qinghua Zeng, Rongkun Zhou, Hongbo Cai, Xiaofei Xu, Shenghou Zhou, Wanyu Lu, Qian Kang, Xiaoqing Chen, Kun Zheng, Yongzhe Zhang, Zhiyong Wang & Hui Yan
Gold Stone (Fujian) Energy Company Limited, Quanzhou, China
Xiqi Yang, Jiaxing Wang, Qinghua Zeng, Chaohua Zhang, Hong Zhang, Jiarong Huang, Yuhua Wang, Yusheng Yang & Jinyan Zhang
College of New Materials and New Energies, Shenzhen Technology University, Shenzhen, China
Zeguo Tang
- Zilong Zheng
Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar
- Xiqi Yang
Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar
- Jiaxing Wang
Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar
- Qinghua Zeng
Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar
- Chaohua Zhang
Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar
- Hong Zhang
Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar
- Jiarong Huang
Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar
- Yuhua Wang
Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar
- Zeguo Tang
Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar
- Rongkun Zhou
Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar