Boron-doped back-surface fields using an aluminum-alloy process

Conference · Wed Oct 01 00:00:00 EDT 1997

OSTI ID:534513

Gee, J M; Bode, M D; Silva, B L

Boron-doped back-surface fields (BSF`s) have potentially superior performance compared to aluminum-doped BSF`s due to the higher solid solubility of boron compared to aluminum. However, conventional boron diffusions require a long, high temperature step that is both costly and incompatible with many photovoltaic-grade crystalline-silicon materials. We examined a process that uses a relatively low-temperature aluminum-alloy process to obtain a boron-doped BSF by doping the aluminum with boron. In agreement with theoretical expectations, we found that thicker aluminum layers and higher boron doping levels improved the performance of aluminum-alloyed BSF`s.

• Research Organization: Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Washington, DC (United States)
• DOE Contract Number: AC04-94AL85000
• OSTI ID: 534513
• Report Number(s): SAND-97-2353C; CONF-970953-5; ON: DE98000045; TRN: 97:005372
• Resource Relation: Conference: 26. IEEE photovoltaic specialists conference, Anaheim, CA (United States), 29 Sep - 3 Oct 1997; Other Information: PBD: 1997
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

14 SOLAR ENERGY
36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
SILICON SOLAR CELLS
PERFORMANCE
DOPED MATERIALS
MATHEMATICAL MODELS
ALUMINIUM ALLOYS
DEPOSITION
BORON
SPUTTERING