Heterocontact Solar Cell with Inverted Geometry of Its Layer Structure

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This invention describes a heterojunction (heterocontact) solar cell with an inverted layer geometry, where the amorphous emitter layer is placed on the bottom (light-avoiding side) of the crystalline silicon absorber, unlike conventional designs where the emitter faces the light. The top (light-facing side) of the absorber is covered only by a transparent anti-reflection and passivation layer, improving photon absorption by minimizing optical losses. The structure eliminates the need for a transparent conductive oxide (TCO) layer, reducing complexity, production energy, and costs while maintaining good electrical contact and efficiency.

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• Photovoltaic power generation for residential, commercial, or utility-scale solar energy plants
• Integration into building-integrated photovoltaics (BIPV), such as solar panels on rooftops or facades
• Portable or off-grid solar energy devices requiring higher efficiency per unit area
• Solar panels for vehicles or transportation systems
• High-performance, low-cost thin-film solar modules

BenefitsContent extracted from patent full text and abstract with AI.

• Increased light absorption in the active crystalline absorber region, boosting efficiency
• Reduced optical and recombination losses compared to conventional heterojunction solar cells
• Lower manufacturing complexity by removing TCO layers and simplifying structure
• Potentially lower production costs and energy consumption due to low-temperature PECVD processing
• Better electronic interface and passivation, resulting in higher carrier lifetimes
• Flexible in materials and manufacturing processes (applicable to both wafer-based and thin-film technologies)

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Patent Abstract

The amorphous emitter of known heterocontact solar cells is arranged on the top of the crystalline absorber facing the light and absorbs incident light which therefore cannot contribute to the generation of charge carriers in the absorber. A transparent conductive oxide layer (TCO) as the cover layer which has a negative effect on the pn transition, can be avoided. The inventive heterocontact solar cell (HKS) has an inverted geometry of its layer structure and thus an inverted heterocontact. The amorphous emitter (EM) is arranged on the bottom (LU) of the crystalline absorber (AB) facing away from the light. The absorber (AB) is only covered by a transparent antireflection coating (ARS) on its top (LO) facing the light, said coating, due to the material chosen, is at the same time the electrically effective passivation layer (PS), thereby avoiding absorption losses. The energy recuperation time regarding the material, time and energy requirements can be reduced by the low-temperature production of the emitter (EM) and the antireflection coating (ARS) by plasma CVD processes at 250 °C to 350 °C. The upper contact structure (OKS) penetrates the transparent antireflection coating (ARS) digitately, the lower contact structure (UKS) is configured as a thin large-surface metal layer (MS).