A comparative study of buried contact and screen printed polycrystalline silicon solar cells with a mechanically V-grooved surface texturization

The aim of this work is to study buried contact and screen printed metallization techniques for polycrystalline silicon solar cells with a mechanical surface texturization. The application of a buried contact front metallization to V-grooved silicon substrates is to be optimized. For contact groove formation a dicing saw is used equipped with 15 μm thin dicing blades. Commercially available Ni and Cu plating solutions are applied for cell metallization. Buried contact and screen printed polycrystalline silicon solar cells with and without a mechanically V-grooved front texturization are processed by using P₂O₅ and POCl₃ emitter diffusion as well as a dry silicon dioxide in combination with PECVD silicon nitride cell passivation. Details of the optimization procedure of both metallization schemes on V-grooved cell surfaces are presented. Problems occurring during the implementation of the buried contact approach within the solar cell process are also discussed