Numerical Simulations of Buried Emitter Back-Junction Solar Cells

摘要

We recently introduced the buried emitter back-junction solar cell, featuring large area fractions of overlap between n~+-type and p~+-type regions at the rear side of the device. In this paper we analyse the performance of the buried emitter solar cell (BESC) and its generalisations by one-dimensional device simulations arid analytical model calculations. A key finding is that the generalised versions of the BESC structure allows achieving very high efficiencies by passivating virtually the entire surface of p-type emitters by an oxidised n-type surface layer. A disadvantage of this type of full-area emitter passivation in the generalised back-junction BESC is the need for an insulating layer between the metallisation of the emitter and the contact to the base, which is technologically difficult to achieve.