Epitaxial Thin Silicon Solar Cell Fabrication
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Solution Overview
Problem
The high cost and complexity of traditional silicon wafer creation steps in solar cell manufacturing hinder the competitiveness of solar cells with other energy sources, necessitating a more efficient and cost-effective fabrication process.
Innovation Solution
The method involves forming a sacrificial layer on a silicon substrate, growing a doped silicon layer and a silicon film epitaxially, creating interdigitated contacts, and removing the sacrificial layer to detach the solar cell, thereby eliminating the need for traditional wafer creation steps and reducing fabrication costs.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional silicon wafer creation steps are used, then solar cells can be fabricated with established processes, but the cost and complexity of fabrication increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and eliminates the complex traditional wafer creation steps (ingot formation, wafering) from the solar cell fabrication process. Instead, silicon layers are grown directly on a substrate using epitaxial growth, removing the unnecessary intermediate steps while maintaining product quality
Solution Approach 2:
The fabrication process is segmented into distinct functional layers grown epitaxially: a sacrificial layer for release, a textured silicon layer for light capture, and a thin silicon film for photovoltaic function. This segmentation allows each layer to be optimized independently and simplifies the overall process
2Quantity of substance
If traditional wafer creation steps are used, then solar cells can be manufactured, but the fabrication cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses a thin silicon film grown epitaxially on a substrate instead of traditional thick silicon wafers. This thin film approach reduces silicon material consumption significantly while maintaining solar cell functionality, directly lowering material costs
Solution Approach 2:
The substrate is prepared in advance with a textured surface pattern before silicon layer growth. This preliminary texturing enables improved light capture without requiring additional processing steps after wafer fabrication, reducing overall manufacturing complexity and cost
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This approach allows for the cost-effective fabrication of thin silicon solar cells with improved light capture due to textured surfaces, enhancing efficiency and reducing the expense associated with traditional wafer processing.
Implementation Method 1
removing the sacrificial layer
Implementation Method 2
processing the exposed surface of the sacrificial layer to form a textured surface
Implementation Method 3
epitaxially growing a silicon film atop the lesser doped silicon layer
Data Source
AI summary
A method of fabricating a solar cell is disclosed. The method includes the steps of forming a sacrificial layer on a silicon substrate, forming a doped silicon layer atop the sacrificial substrate, forming a silicon film atop the doped silicon layer, forming a plurality of interdigitated contacts on the silicon film, contacting each of the plurality of interdigitated contacts with a metal contact, and removing the sacrificial layer.