Automated Array Assembly, Phase 2. Quarterly technical progress report, second quarter, 1978

Technical Report · Sat Jul 01 04:00:00 EDT 1978

OSTI ID:6523211

Carbajal, B G

The Automated Array Assembly Task, Phase 2 of the Low Cost Silicon Solar Array (LSSA) Project is a process development task. This contract includes solar cell module process development activities in the areas of Surface Preparation, Plasma Processing, Diffusion, Cell Processing and Module Fabrication. In addition, a High Efficiency Cell Development Activity is included. The overall goal is to advance solar cell module process technology to meet the 1986 goal of a production capacity of 500 megawatts per year at a cost of less than $500 per kilowatt. This contract will focus on the process element developments and will propose an overall module process. During the second quarter of 1978, effort was focused on diffusion from polymer sources, large-area cell fabrication, improving the baseline cell process, evaluating polycrystalline substrates, deriving low-cost cell process alternatives, fabrication of module piece parts, validation of module assembly processes, fabrication of Tandem Junction Cells (TJC) and modification of the TJC structure to form a Front Surface Field (FSF) cell. Large-area square cells to populate the first sample modules have been sent to the module fabrication activity. A phosphorous-doped polymer diffusion source has been identified as an alternate to the POCl/sub 3/ diffusion. TJCs have been improved to give AM1 cell efficiencies as high as 16.4%. Further improvements are expected to reach 17%.

• Research Organization: Texas Instruments, Inc., Dallas (USA)
• DOE Contract Number: NAS-7-100-954881
• OSTI ID: 6523211
• Report Number(s): DOE/JPL/954881-3
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

14 SOLAR ENERGY
140501* -- Solar Energy Conversion-- Photovoltaic Conversion
CRYSTALS
DIFFUSION
DIRECT ENERGY CONVERTERS
EFFICIENCY
FABRICATION
MANUFACTURING
PHOTOELECTRIC CELLS
PHOTOVOLTAIC CELLS
POLYCRYSTALS
POLYMERS
PROCESSING
PRODUCTION
SILICON SOLAR CELLS
SOLAR CELL ARRAYS
SOLAR CELLS
SUBSTRATES