High-flux solar furnace processing of silicon solar cells

We used a 10-kW high-flux solar furnace (HFSF) to diffuse the front-surface n/sup +/-p junction and the back-surface p-p/sup +/ junction of single-crystal silicon solar cells in one processing step. We found that all of the HFSF-processed cells have better conversion efficiencies than control cells of identical structures fabricated by conventional furnace diffusion methods. HFSF processing offers several advantages that may contribute to improved solar cell efficiency: (1) it provides a cold-wall process, which reduces contamination; (2) temperature versus time profiles can be precisely controlled; (3) wavelength, intensity, and spatial distribution of the incident solar flux can be controlled and changed rapidly, (4) a number of high-temperature processing steps can be performed simultaneously; and (5) combined quantum and thermal effects may benefit overall cell performance. The HFSF has also been successfully used to texture the surface of silicon wafers and to crystallize a-Si:H thin films on glass.