A high-low junction emitter structure for improving silicon solar cell efficiency

A new device structure which is designed to substantially increase the open-circuit voltage and the power-conversion efficiency of p-n junction silicon solar cells is described. The structure differs from the conventional cell structure in that it contains a high-low (H-L) junction in the emitter. Based on numerical solutions of the fundamental Shockley differential equations, efficiency improvements of about 15 percent at AM1 and about 40 percent at 50 suns can be epxected. The improvement at 50 suns results in an efficiency of about 20 percent at 27°C.