Comparison of anisotropic etching and laser technologies applied in manufacturing of semitransparent monocrystalline solar cells

This paper presents the comparison of two technologies that could be used to manufacture semitransparent monocrystalline building integrated solar cells: laser cutting and anisotropic etching. Nd:YAG 1064 nm laser cut sidewalls are rough and contain molten residues, resulting in shunts across the through-holes. TMAH etched edges are uniform with smooth sidewalls. Carrier lifetime and Kelvin probe measurements were conducted to study the flaws occurring in the two technologies.