Fabrication and characterization of thin c-Si solar cells by low cost methods

Following the decreasing thickness tendency in PV industry, there have been prepared c-Si solar cells on thin substrates (100 - 120 μm) by means of low cost methods, suitable for industrial application like spray coating and screen printing. Commercial and non-commercial doping sources are tested. A special emphasis is made on contamination tracing throughout the entire process by means of XPS and SIMS analysis. Current-Voltage, spectral response and contact resistance scanning of the cells are presented. Efficiencies of up to 12.2% have been achieved for 4×4 cm cells without antireflective or special passivation technology.