Crystalline Silicon Solar Cell Technology

Rubin Sidhu, David E. Carlson BP Solar April 13, 2010

Agenda
Global PV Market Nomenclature PV Technologies Crystalline Silicon Solar Cell Value Chain Solar Cell Physics (no equations!) Why is solar cell efficiency only ~15%? Reaching Grid Parity using BP Solars Crystalline Silicon PV Technology The Solar America Initiative Silicon Solar Technology Roadmap Conclusion: Future of PV

PV Experience Curve

Cost of Materials Limit (20% Modules)

PV module prices have followed an experience curve with a slope of ~ 80% 20% decrease in price with every doubling of cumulative production

Cost of Solar Electricity

Shipments of Photovoltaic Modules

Projection
(Lux Research)

PV shipments actually increased about 20% 2009.

PV Shipments & Countries of Origin

(Navigant Consulting)

Europe has been the largest consumer of PV in recent years (> 50% of all installations). China and Taiwan have become the largest producers.

PV Shipments in 2009
European countries accounted for 5.60 GW, or 77% of world demand Germany, Italy and Czech Republic accounted for 4.07 GW United States grew 36% to 485 MW

World solar PV market installations reached a record high of 7.3 GW in 2009 growth of 20% over 2008 $43 billion in global revenues in 2009, up 8% on the prior year World solar cell production 9.34 GW in 2009, up from 6.85 GW in 2008 Crystalline Si module price average for 2009 crashed 38% from previous year

Grid Parity

GTM Research

LCOE and kWh/kWp

Levelized Cost Of Electricity (/kWh): LCOE is the minimum price at which energy must be sold for an energy project to break even
Typical Sunny Day

(W/m)

Including: initial investment operations and maint. cost of fuel cost of capital

1200 7.5 Sun-Hour Day 24-Hour Equivalent 1000

800

600

400

200

7.5 kWh Spread over 24 Hours

0 0

66 AM

Noon 12

6 18 PM

24

Insolation

kWh/kWp

PV Facts Using todays PV Technology, an array field that is 300 miles on each side could produce the entire electrical energy used by the United States in a year.

PV Facts

Over its lifetime, a typical PV module, in a sunny climate, will produce over twenty times the electricity initially used to manufacture it.

Technology Overview: Nomenclature A solar PV cell is the smallest semiconductor device that can convert sunlight into electrical energy A module is an assembly of cells in series or parallel to augment voltage and/or current A panel is an assembly of modules on a structure An Array is an assembly of panels at a site.

Multi (Poly) Cell

Mono Cell

Large Roof-Top PV Array

Conversion Efficiencies vs. Time (NREL)

There has been steady progress in the improvement of conversion efficiencies for a number of PV technologies over the last few decades.

The Major Players

Crystalline Si
Sharp SolarPower Kyocera BP Solar Q-Cells Mitsubishi SolarWorld Panasonic (Sanyo) Schott Solar Isofoton Motech Suntech Evergreen Solar JA Solar

a-Si/c-Si
United Solar Kaneka Fuji Electric Sharp Mitsubisihi Schott Solar SunTech EPV PowerFilm AMAT licensees Orelikon licenses

CIGS
Nanosolar Avancis Solar Frontier Wurth Solar Global Solar Honda Soltec

CdTe
First Solar Antec Solar Abound Solar PrimeStar Solar Calyxo

There are currently more than 300 companies developing or producing solar cells. With prices continuing to decrease, and more companies entering the market, many small companies and start-ups are likely to fail.

Source: pvsociety

Manufacturing Process for mc-Si PV Modules

CASTING

SIZING
% of Total 0.00% 0.27% 2.18%

WAFERING
% of Total 0.00% 2.03% 13.23%

CLEANING
% of Total 0.00% 0.34% 2.23%

DIFFUSION
% of Total 0.00% 0.85% 2.53%

FINISH TEST

LAMINATION

INTERCONNECT

METALLIZATION

ANTIREFLECTIVE COATING

Most companies are manufacturing PV modules based on screenprinting contacts on multicrystalline silicon wafers

CZ - Silicon for Solar

Silicon Feedstock
Drawbacks of CZ Solar Cylindrical ingot (module packing) Smaller throughput rate CZ: 5.3 kg/h at 2mm/min Cast: 12.9 kg/h at 0.3mm/min High oxygen content -> LID Higher energy use Feedstock limitations Importance of skilled operators Mono-crystalline wafer

Mono module Mono solar cell

Multicrystalline Silicon Casting

Silicon Ingot
Crucible Liquid Si Solid Si

Silicon Feedstock

Drawbacks:
Crystal defects Iron from crucible Inclusions from coating, furnace Not compatible with pyramid texturing
Heater Insulation

Silicon Bricks
Casting Station cross-section Multicrystalline Solar Cell

Multicrystalline Wafer

Multicrystalline Module

The Typical Silicon Solar Cell

This device structure is used by most manufacturers today.

The front contact is usually formed by POCl3 diffusion The rear contact is formed by firing screen-printed Al to form a back-surface field

The cell efficiencies for screen-printed multicrystalline silicon cells are typically in the range of 14 17%.

Operation of a Solar Cell

The theoretical limit for a crystalline silicon solar cell is ~ 29%.

Typical module construction

J-box Cable Backsheet EVA encapsulant

Solar cells EVA encapsulant Glass Frame w/adhesives

BP Solar now uses a polyester backsheet to protect the rear of the module Also a new encapsulant 5% lower temperature 2 3% gain in energy production

PV Module Costs

Si Wafer PV Module Production Cost $2.10/W

Electricity 10% Silicon 23% Equipment 15% Other Materials 27%

Major Energy Consuming Steps Feedstock 3% Ingot 3% Wafering 2% Cell 2%

Labor 25%

About half of the total module cost is associated with the cost of materials Silicon prices have been dropping rapidly over the last 18 months

Cost Reduction
Source: George Nemet, U Wisc.

Cost of Materials Limit (20% Modules)

Solar America Initiative

This program is a BP Solar cost shared Technology Pathways Partnership under the DOE Solar Energy Program. The program addresses all aspects of crystalline silicon PV manufacturing and systems deployment.

Overall Program Objective

Accelerated development of crystalline silicon technology using thin Mono2 TM wafers as the platform. Module designed for use in residential and commercial markets with products designed specifically for these applications. System components designed to add value to electricity produced.

PV Product Value Chain

Metallurgical Silicon

Semiconductor Silicon

Crystal Growth

Wafering

Cell Fabrication

Module Assembly

Mono2 TM Silicon Casting

Silicon Ingot
Crucible Liquid Si Solid Si

Silicon Feedstock

Heater Insulation

Silicon Bricks
Casting Station cross-section

Mono2 Module

Mono2 Solar Cell

Mono2 Wafer

Mono2 TM Lifetime Uniformity

Multi Mono2 TM

Material

Lifetime
Median Std. Dev.

Jsc
mA/cm
2

Voc
mV

Simulation results

Multi Mono2 TM Mono2 TM, pyramid etched

75 s 80% 75 s 40% 75 s 40%

15.46 15.87 16.41

33.15 33.55 34.71

610 618 619

PV Product Value Chain

Metallurgical Silicon

Semiconductor Silicon

Crystal Growth

Wafering

Cell Fabrication

Module Assembly

c-Si Solar Cells: Loss Mechanisms

Thermodynamic limit for crystalline Si solar cells ~29% Sources of loss relative to maximum achievable efficiency Front surface reflection Emitter contact shadowing Poor rear reflectance for light trapping Surface recombination (i.e., surface cleanliness) Bulk recombination (i.e., material quality) Resistive losses at the cell and module level

0.7% 2.4%

6.3%

2.2% Reflection Shadowing Other (Optical) 2.5% Ohmic Recombination

Cell Process

Texture Etch
ICT
o Preferred option for Mono2 and multi o Cell efficiency improvements demonstrated o Improvements lost when cells are encapsulated

Alkaline texture etch

o Good for Mono2 but not multi o Increased cell and module efficiencies by ~ 0.5% absolute.

Cell Process

Back Print Optimization

Maximize area covered with Al paste for improved performance Minimize area of Ag pads to reduce cost Implemented new pattern in production with 0.6% gain in cell efficiency and 1% increase in module efficiency.

Advanced Metallization
Looking at new approaches to increase metallization thickness, to reduce series resistance while also reducing finger width and therefore shadowing. Looking at aerosol jet printing, ink jet printing and offset printing. Successfully printed 80 to 90 m wide and ~ 35 m thick

c-Si Solar Cells: Advances

Source: pvsociety

The Selective Emitter

A number of organizations are developing solar cells with selective emitters in order to use thinner emitters and improve the shortwavelength spectral response.

Passivated Rear Point Contacts

Fraunhofer ISE has used laser firing of aluminum to fabricate high efficiency (21.7%) solar cells with passivated rear point contacts.

The PERL Solar Cell

+ p n n+ p-silicon + p rear contact p+ oxide oxide

+ p

PERL Cell Structure

The PERL solar cell has a passivated emitter with a rear locally diffused base contact, and efficiencies as high as 25% have been obtained with this structure.

SunPower Back Contact Solar Cell

The SunPower cell has all its electrical contacts on the rear surface of the cell. Production cells ~ 22.4% efficiency; new prototypes at 23.4%. Diffusion lengths > 3 x cell thickness (using 145 m thick CZ-Si at end of 2008).

Sanyo HIT Solar Cell

The HIT cell utilizes amorphous Si intrinsic layers (~ 5 nm) as passivation layers. The cell is symmetric except for the a-Si p+ emitter layer (~ 10 nm) on the front and the a-Si n+ contact layer (~ 15 nm) on the rear. Best lab efficiency = 22.3% (open-circuit voltages as high as 739 mV).

PV Product Value Chain

Metallurgical Silicon

Semiconductor Silicon

Crystal Growth

Wafering

Cell Fabrication

Module Assembly

Module Assembly defines product reliability and longevity Material choice is key to meet life time goal Good choice of materials allows life time to exceed warranty period Balance of performance and cost

Module Packaging Materials Encapsulant: Glue for the whole package: Key component Back sheet: Protect cells against the environment and provide electrical isolation Superstrate glass: Cell protection and light capture Frames and framing adhesives: Mounting and load bearing J-box/Cables: Electric isolation and longevity Tabbing ribbons: For cell interconnection

Module Development

AR Coated Glass
Qualified and implemented Gen 1 AGC Flat Glass NA AR coated glass with 1.5 to 2% increase in STC power and 4% increase in overall energy collection Gen 2 now under development with improved cosmetic uniformity and ~ 2.5% STC power gain.

EVA cure level determination

Standard approach is to use chemical extraction of un-cross linked EVA (gel content) Developed differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) as a fast and reliable way of measuring cross-link density.

ARC vs. standard module

Standard modules AR coated modules
kWh/kWp difference between AR coated & Uncoated glass
9%

Percentage kWh/kWp difference

7%

5%

3%

1%

6:00 -1%

7:00

8:00

9:00

10:00

11:00

12:00

13:00

14:00

15:00

16:00

17:00

Time of Day Time of Day

Normalized energy generation of a day 6% to 7% more energy at early and late periods of the day

BP Solar testing beyond industry standards

BP Solar ensures the long-term dependability and reliability of our products by testing beyond industry standards to mimic 25 years of exposure and real world conditions.
BP Testing
Thermal cycling at 2.5 times IEC Standards

Implications
Thermal cycles stress and crack module interconnects; failures of interconnects lead to significant loss of power

Damp heat exposure at 25% more than IEC Standards

Moisture and heat can lead to corrosion leading to significant power loss or module failure Modules experience significant flexing due to wind pressure that can cause cell cracks and lead to reduced module output or failure Modules experience significant flexing due to snow loads that can cause cell cracks and lead to reduced module output or failure

Addition of wind simulation to IEC humidity freeze cycles

Load testing as much as twice the IEC Standard

Residential Building-Integrated PV

Building-integrated PV may become ubiquitous in the next few decades.

Large Grid-Connected PV Arrays

The levelized cost of electricity should fall to ~ 6 /kWh by 2015 for large grid-connected arrays

Solar Energy the Long-Term Solution?

Source: German Advisory Council on Global Change

Some forecasts predict that solar will provide most of our energy needs in the latter half of this century.

Projections for the Future of PV

The levelized cost of PV electricity could fall to ~ 6 /kWh by 2015 Disruptive technologies with theoretical limits of > 60% may emerge in the next few decades Assuming a CAGR of 35% (average over the last few decades), the cumulative PV production would be ~ 3.5 TWp by 2026. 3 TWp of solar electricity will reduce carbon emissions by about 1 Gton per year (7 Gtons of carbon were emitted as CO2 in 2000) Thus, by about 2030 PV could be producing about 10% of the worlds electricity and start to play a major role in reducing CO2 emissions

Questions?