Front Side Metallization of n- and p-Type, High-Efficiency, Single-Crystalline Si Solar Cells: Assessing the Temperature-Dependent Series Resistance

The series resistance of high-quality, single crystalline p-type and n-type solar cells was measured in a temperature range between 80 K and room temperature. Among one cell type (n or p), cells were processed identically. Only the processing of the front side metallization was varied by using different processing conditions and screen printing pastes. High-efficiency n- (eta = 20.0%) and p-type (eta = 18.0%) cells yielded similar contact and series resistance and common features of the microstructure of the front side contact, i.e. a glass layer containing Ag colloids with typical diameters of 5-200 nm. Temperature-dependent current voltage curves (I-V curves) were acquired and evaluated with respect to the series resistance by using two different methods yielding different results. On average the series resistance follows the trends of the contact resistance of the front side metallization determined at room temperature. Optimally processed cells yielded series resistances of less than 25 m Omega cm(2) (method #1) both for n- and p-type cells. It could be shown that the series resistance reflected the processing conditions and paste properties and yielded similar temperature dependence for p- and n-type cells with small contact resistance. Therefore, the relevant current paths of high-efficiency n- and p-type cells appear to be similar in the front side metallization and include the glass layer which contains a high density of Ag colloids.