An experimental technique to measure the shunt resistance across a local region of a floating junction

The inclusion of a floating junction (FJ) at the surface of a solar cell is one way to obtain good-quality surface passivation. The development of FJ-passivated solar cells, however, has been hindered by the frequent occurrence of shunting across the FJ. Shunting can occur at specific regions of the FJ, such as at isolated points of the base contact or at the edges of the solar cell. This paper presents an experimental technique to determine the shunt resistance across local regions of an FJ, thereby providing a means to compare the prevalence of shunting in one region to another. By locating and quantifying the shunting in specific regions of an FJ, valuable insight into its cause can be obtained.