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EE332TermPaperFall2015
MasonWaetke
LoganBoas
Abstract:
Thepurposeofthisdesignreportistodescribetheprocessofdesigningasolarcell,and
tofindouthowcertainparameterscanaffectthepowercollectionefficiency.Ourfirsttaskisto
designthegridlayoutinordertogetatransmissionlossthatislessthan10%oftheinputpower.
Withagivenspecificationofthepowerinput,fillfactorandothervalues.Todothiswehaveto
findaninkthatmeetsourneeds.Thisbringsustothesecondchallenge,todescribethespecific
manufacturingprocessandmaterialsusedtocreatethiscell.
Introduction
Withthegrowingtransitiontorenewableenergysourcesinourworldtoday,solarpower
isoneofthefastestgrowingindustries.Thereishighdemandformoreandmoreefficientsolar
cellssothatourenergyproductioncanbecomemoreandmoreaffordable.Optimizingthe
semiconductorpropertiesinsolarcellsisadelicatetaskthatiscrucialtocuttingedgesolar
technology.
Thegeneraloperationconceptsofapnsolarcellarerelativelysimple.Thejunction
absorbsphotonswhenitisexposedtolight,andrespondstothisbyforminganelectron
/holepair
inthematerialaslongasthephotontransfersanenergygreaterthanthebandgapinsidethe
junction[1].Theelectricfieldinthejunctionthenseparatesthiselectron/holepair.Figure1
showshowthesefreeelectronswillbedrawntothecontact,creatingcurrentthroughthecircuit.
Aftertravelingthroughthecircuitandbacktothebase,electronswillrecombinewiththeholes
andbegintheprocessagain.Thisreactionoccursonaverylargescale,producinggreatercurrent
insolarcellswithgreatersurfacearea[1].Inthispaper,weusegivenspecificationstodesigna
gridandbusbarsystemfora10cmx10cmsiliconesolarcell,anddesignacostefficient
fabricationprocessthatdoesnotoverreachaspecifiedpowerloss.
Fig.1
DesignParameters:
Togetanideaofwhatneedstobedonetosolvethisproblem,wefirstmustlookatthe
givenparametersandidentifytheparametersthatneedtobedeliveredwithourdesign.The
tablebelowdetailstheinformationwearegivenalongwiththeparameterswemustdesigntofit
withinthespecifications,asshowninfigure2.
Fig.2
Given
ToFind
PhotonInputPower,
2
P
=
100mW/cm
in
Numberofpowerbuses
PowerGenerated(before
2
losses),P
=
20.1mW/cm
out
Busdimensions
PowerGenerated(afterlossesof Numberofbusfingers
2
<10%),P
=
18.1mW/cm
out
2
J
=
40mA/cm
SC
Fingerdimensions
V
=
0.67V
OC
Fingerspacing
FF=
0.75
SheetResistance,R
=
100/
Design:
Part1:Doping
Dopinglevelisoneparameterthatcanhaveagreateffectontheefficiencyand
functionalityofanypnjunction,solarcellsinparticular.Inordertocalculatethenecessary
dopingconcentration,wefirstmadeacoupleofassumptions.
Wemadetheemitterthickness
verythin(1micrometer)inordertogeneratemorecarriersfromtheincominglightwithinthe
2
junctiondiffusionregion.Forelectronmobility,
,weusedtheSivalue480cm
/Vs.
n
Usingthegivensheetresistancealongwiththecalculationofconductivity,weareableto
derivethecarrierconcentration,N
[2].
D
tn =
1
R
1
qN DnR
100/sq =
1
qN Dntn
18 3
Thisgivesusacarrierconcentration,Nd,of1.302x10
cm
.
Part2:GridDimensions
Themainchallengeofthisdesignprocesscomesfromcreatingawirebussystemthat
collectsasmuchoftheenergyaspossible,whilekeepingthebusandfingerdimensionsprecise
enoughtoreducelossesfromvarioussources.Thethreemaintypesoflosseswewillbedealing
witharedescribedbelowandarepicturedinFigure3.
Fig.3
Losses:
N+Layer
Eventhoughthislayerisheavily
doped,itsmaterialhasresistivequalities
greaterthanthatofthesilverconductors.
Thepathsthatthecollectedcurrenttravels
greatlyaffectsthepowerloss,andmustbe
consideredwhendesigningasolarcell.
Conductors
ThesehavemuchlessresistancecomparedtotheN+layer,butstillmustbeaccounted
forinthepowerlosscalculations.Thedimensionsofthesepathsneedtobeconsideredwith
theirresistanceinordertokeepsurfaceareaandtotalresistanceaslowaspossible.Conductor
losseswillbeseparatedandcalculatedasfingerandbuslosses.
Shadowing
BecausethebussesandfingersmustsitontopoftheN+layer,someamountofthe
Siliconareaunderneathwillnotbeexposedtosunlight.Thisareathatcouldbegenerating
powerandisntisconsideredloss,asitreducestheefficiencyofthecellandtheareaitoccupies.
Thisisanotherreasontoaimformaximumsurfaceareaandminimumbusarea.
Somethingelsetoconsiderwhendecidingonthenumberanddimensionsofthebusbars
andfingersissustainability.Havingafewlargefingerswouldbeeasiertomanufactureand
moresturdy,butwouldbelessefficientandwouldbecomemuchlesseffectiveifonefinger
becamedamaged.Ontheotherhand,manysmallerfingerswouldbeveryefficient,butmore
expensivetomanufactureandpronetodamage.
Theschematicontherightrepresentsthebasiccircuitthatis
formedbythesolarcell,wherethecurrentsourceisI
,thecurrent
SC
outputbythesemiconductorbeforelosses.Thedioderepresentsthe
junctioninforwardbiasmode,andtheparallelresistorrepresents
resistiveloss.Fromthis,weknowthat:
qV max
kT
I SC = I 0e
V max
R
V 2max
R
= 20.1mW
Fig.4
Usingtheseequations,wecanfindthatVmax
isabout0.623V.Dividingthemaxpowerby
thisvalueresultsinthemaximumcurrent
2
density,J
=32.3mA/cm
.Usingtheknown
max
FFvalue,wecanconfirmthesecalculations:
F F = .75 =
V maxI max
V OCI SC
Figure4onthepreviouspageshowsan
exampleofasolargrid,whichwillhelp
illustratetheconceptsusedincalculatingresistiveandshadowinglosses.FortheN+layer,we
areassumingthatcurrentisflowingintothefingersperpendicularly,andthenfollowingthepath
throughthebusbar.Inreality,somecurrentinareasneartheconductorintersectionswouldenter
directlyintothebusbarratherthangoingthroughthefingerfirst.Ignoringthisdetailwillhelp
makeourcalculationsmuchsimpler,buttheresultswillnotbeasefficientasarealsolarcell
woulddemonstrate.Inouractualdesign,wewillalsospacethetwobusbarsequally,sothatif
theboardweretobedivideddownthecenter,abuswouldberunningdownthemiddleofeach
half.Thiswillallowourfingerstoallhavethesamedimensions,andourboardtobefourfingers
wide.Lastly,thespacesinbetweenthefingerswillbereferredtoasS,sothatthemaximum
distancecurrenthastotraveltogettoafingerwillbeS/2.
FindingL
andL
f
b
Incalculatingthelengthofourbusbarsandfingers,wedecidedforsimplicitytousetwo
busbars.Asdescribedbefore,thesewilleachbespacedaquarterofthewayfromtheedgeofthe
cellsothatwecanuseafingerlengthofonequarterofthelengthofthecell.Therefore:
Lf = 2.5cm, Lb = 10cm
BusWidth
Usingthelengthsfromabove,theresistivityofthesilverweareusing,andthevoltageat
maximumpower,wecanfindthedesiredbuswidth[3].
Wb =
Lf Lb
2
AgJ max
mV max
= 0.0569cm
Wheretheresistivityofsilveris1.2mcmandweareassumingthatmis3.Form,3isusedfor
nontaperedfingerbusconnections,and4isusedfortapered.Thisdifference,asdescribed
earlier,requiresadifferentlevelofcomplexityinordertoaccountforthepathsoftaperedfingers
[4].
Powerlossinthebus
Resistive:
Tocalculatethepercentageoftotalpowerlostinthebusses,wecanintegratethe
maxpowercurrentwithrespecttothelengthofthebus[3].Thisequatestothefollowing
pbusr =
= 2.278%
Shadowing:
Thepercentageofpowerlosttoshadowingduetothebusesissimplytheratioof
thebuswidthtothefingerlength[3].
pbussh =
Wb
Lf
= 2.276%
FingerWidth/Spacing
Thefingerwidthcalculationissimilartothebuswidthcalculation,buttakesinto
accountthefingerspacing.Thewidthisoptimizedbyusingthesquarerootofelectricfieldover
maxpowervoltage,multipliedproportionallytotheareaoftheemitterlayerthatisfeeding
currenttoeachfinger[3].Usingthedatasheet,weselectedtheminimumfeaturesizeforthe
finger,30m.
W f = .003cm = S Lf
AgJ max
3V max
Thisequality,withourselectedfingerwidthpluggedin,allowsustofindtheappropriatefinger
spacing.ThevalueweobtainedisS=0.264cm.
Powerlossinthefingers
Resistive:
Weusethesametechniquetofindtheresistivefingerlossaswedidforthebus,
butthistimeaccountingforfingerlengthandwidth[3].
pfingerr =
= 1.369%
Shadowing:
Percentageofenergylosttoshadowinginthefingersistheratiooffingerwidth
tofingerspacing[3].
pfingersh =
Wf
S
= 1.136%
LossesinN+Layer
Lossesintheemitterlayercanbefoundbasedonthefilmsresistivity,whichis
significantlyhigherthanthatofsilversoitwillconsumemorepowerthanthefingers.The
percentoflossisequaltotheratioofpowerinthelayertototalpowergenerated[3].
pN+ =
N +S2J max
12V max
=3.011%
Totallingalllosses
Addingthesealltogetherwillapproximatethepercentageoftotalpowerlostdueto
collectingandtransportingthegeneratedpowerfromtheemitterlayertothesolarcellcontacts.
Aswediscovered,ourdesignjustfitsintothelimitof10%theoreticalloss.Thefinaloutput
2
poweris18.1mW/cm
.
Thesevaluesarebrokendowninfigure6andequatedtoactualpowerloss.
Numberoffingers
Sincewefound,above,thefingerwidthandspacing,thenumberoffingersthatcanfiton
theboardwillbethetotalwidthdividedbythespacethateachfingerrequired.
Nf =
10cm
W f +S
= 37F ingers
Thefigurebelowshowsthefinalsolarcelldesignanditsdimensions.
Fig.5
Fig.6
SolarCellDimensions
PowerLoss
FingerLength
2.5cm
BusResistance
0.455mW
BusLength
10cm
BusShadowing
0.455mW
FingerWidth
30m
EmitterLayer
0.602mW
BusWidth
569m
FingerResistance
0.274mW
FingerSpacing
2.64mm
FingerShadowing
0.227mW
Numberof
Fingers
37
Total
2mW=10%
Fabrication:
Whenitcomestoprintingthebusbarsandfingers,therearedifferenttechniques
availabletouse.Inmanytechniques,thesamestyleofmachineisusedwherethesolarcellsare
carriedtotheprinterbyawalkingbeamorconveyorbelt.Thesiliconsolarcellisthenslid
underneaththeprintersscreenorstencilthatismountedtoaframesoitdoesnotmove.
Stencilswereoriginallyusedtoprintthefingersandbusbarsbyfillingallthespace
exceptwherethefingersandbusbarswereintendedtobeonthesolarcell.Althoughstencil
printingwascreatedfirst,printingwithastencilbecameproblematicwhenitwasnecessaryto
printanareathatencirclesanareathatdidnotneedink.Anexampleofthisisprintingarounda
circle.Theinnercirclehadtobeconnectedtotheotherpartofthestencilinsomeway.
Tosolvethisproblem,wirewasusedtoconnecttheinnerpartstogettheenclosedpartof
thestencilback.Thenthemeshorscreentechniquewascreatedbyhavingeverypieceofthe
stencilattachedbyaveryfinewirescreen.Thisscreentechniqueiswhatismostcommonlyused
andisthemostavailablechoicetousewhenfabricatingasolarcell.
Thereisasmallgapbetweenthesiliconsolarcellandthescreencalledthesnapoff
distance[5].Acertainamountofinkisplacedontothescreenandtheprinterhasasqueegeethat
firstgoesovertheentirescreen,asshownaboveinfigure7[1],withnopressureatfirstto
spreadtheinkevenlyandtofillinthegapsofthescreen.Thenthesqueegeegoesoverthescreen
asecondtimewithaspecificamountofpressureandspeed.Thepressurecausesthescreento
bendandtouchthesolarcellonlyatthespecificlocationofthesqueegee.Oncethesqueegee
moveson,thescreensnapsoffofthesolarcellandleavestheinkonthesolarcell.
Thetypeandsizeofthescreenisdecidedbywhattypeofinkisused.Thisdecisionrelies
onwhattypeofinkfitstheneededspecifications.Forthefrontfingersandbusbarsofasolar
cell,alowcontactresistance,highconductivity,smalllineresolution,solderability,andthe
abilityofadhesiontothesolarcellareimportantfactors[5].
Thereisachoiceoftwodifferenttypesofink:pasteorhotmeltpaste.Pasteinkisliquid
atroomtemperature,soitneedstobefiredonceitisprinted.Thisinkcomesatdifferent
viscositiesandthinnermaybeaddedtoit.Thisallowseasyapplicationfortheprinter,butitputs
alimitonthethicknessofthefingersandbusbars.Therearecertaintypesofpastesthatcanbe
stackedorbeprintedontopofdriedlines,whichiscalleddoubleprintedcontactlines,asshown
aboveinfigure8[6].Doublelineprintinghasmanyadvantages,suchascausingahigheraspect
ratioandreducingshadowingwhilekeepingtheseriesresistancelow.Theproblemwithdouble
lineprintingisthatthesecondfingerscouldbeoffsetfromthefirstfingers.Thankstohigh
resolutioncameras,newsoftwarecodes,andadvancedilluminationsystemstheoffsetcanbe
minimizeddowntolessthantenmicrometers[6].
Hotmeltpasteissolidatroomtemperature,soitisnotnecessarytousefiretodry.The
mainproblemforthistypeofinkisthateverypartoftheprinterthathandlestheinkwouldhave
tobeheated,includingthescreenandsqueegeeinparticular[7].Theinkisthick,soitalsohasa
largerlineresolutionwhichalsoincreasestheshadowingfromthefingersandbusbars.Withthe
inksthickness,italsohasahighfingerthickness,soitgivesahighaspectratio.Althoughhot
melthasmanyappealingaspects,therearemanyuncertaintiesoftheaccessibilityofheated
screenprintersandscreens.Forthisreason,thepasteinkthatcanbeprinteddoublelinediswhat
wouldbethemostidealandhavethemostcompetitivepricing.
Themetaltypethatisusedintheinkhasalargeeffectontheresistanceofthebusbars
andthefingers.Copperandsilverbothhaveveryhighconductivities,butwiththehigher
conductivityandnotbeingabletofindanycopperinkavailableforpurchase,silverwas
selected.Therearemanydifferentoptionsfortypesofsilverinktouse,asshowninfigure9[8]
[9][10][11][12],butthereisonethatisabletouseamuchthinnerlineresolutionwhilestill
havingahighconductivityafteritisfired.Itisalsosolderableandhasthefastestprintingspeed.
Fig.9
Typeofink
Solamet
Line
Resistivity
Typeof
Printing Firing
Drying
Solder
Resolution
(m/sq/10
Metal
Speed
Temp.
Temp.
Ability
(m)
m)
mm/sec
()
()
5080
<5
150250 800
170
Ag
PV17A
Solamet
230
5080
<5
Ag
150250 800
PV17D
Solamet
50100
<5
Ag
150250 800
PV3N2
Yes
170
Yes
230
3050
<5
Ag
200300 800
PV19A
Solamet
170
230
PV17F
Solamet
Yes
170
Yes
230
4070
<5
Ag/Al
150
700
170
Yes
230
TheDupontSolametPV19Aworksbestwithahighopenratioscreenwithheavy
calendar.Thisscreenhelpshaveaminimumlineresolution[11].Oncethefirstsetoffingersand
busbarsareprintedontothesolarcell,thesolarcellismovedtoadryerfordrying.Thecellwill
bedriedfortenminutesinaverticaldryer,asshowninfigure10[1],orforoneminuteinan
infraredbeltdryer.Afterdryingthesolarcell,itissenttoanotherprintersothesecondsetof
fingerscanbeprinted,sothecellwillbedoublelined.Thenthesolarcellissenttothefiring
furnace,asshowninfigure11[13].Theinkisarapidfiringinkwhichallowsittobefiredata
temperatureof800C,tomaximizetheelectricalperformance,foraspecifictimethatdepends
onthesolarcellthicknessandtexturing.
Conclusion
Throughoutthispaper,wehavetakengivenspecificationsanddesignedasolarcellgrid
andfabricationtechniquewithahighaspectration,minimumshading,andalowseries
resistance.Usingthegivenspecificationsandthevaluesgivenbytheinksdatasheetsuchasthe
inksresistivity,lineresolution,dryingtemperaturesandfiringprocess,wewereabletocalculate
theapproximatepowerlossduetotheemitterlayerresistance,shadowing,fingerresistance,and
busresistancewhileusingthemostcostefficientandproductavailabilityprocess.Thisresistive
losswascalculatedandfoundtobethemaximumamountoflosstokeepthepowerlossofthe
solarcellequaltothemaximumamountallowedandtostillmeettheneededspecifications.
Onepointthatmustbeacknowledgedisthefactthatallofthecalculationsand
estimationswemadewerebasedonidealconditionsofthematerialsinourcell.Ifthisdesign
wasactuallymanufactured,itislikelythattheefficiencywouldhaveamarginoferror,meaning
thatitwouldperformslightlybelowthetheoreticalprediction.Forexample,thefingersand
bussesmaybeprintedwithslightlyroundedcorners,whichwouldchangetheamountofpower
collection.This,amongotherminorinconsistencies,willyieldsomeamountofdeviationwhich
wehavedecidedisnegligible.
Overall,wewereabletogetalookinsidetheperspectiveofengineerswhodesignand
optimizesolarcells.Wegainedexperienceworkingwithafewofthedesigntechniquesthatare
beingusedtoconstantlyimproveefficiency.Thischanginglevelofefficiencycanbevery
tediousandrequirealotofworkforevensmallimprovements,butitiscrucialtothefutureof
ourplanetsenergyinfrastructurethatsolarpowercontinuestogrow.
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