Thin, substrate-based crystalline silicon solar cells with no grid shading

Two major opportunities for increasing the performance of present day silicon solar cells involve reducing both the thickness and the grid shading. The ideal silicon photovoltaic device will be 20-100 μm thick, will incorporate light trapping, and will not be shaded by contact metallization. Practicality also requires that these devices be supported by a low cost substrate. For the first time, a thin, substrate-based crystalline silicon solar cell has been designed and fabricated with no grid shading. Contacts are sandwiched between a supportive silicon substrate and a 40 μm thick active silicon device layer. Device results include a 535 mV V_oc, and negligible shunt conductance and series resistance