Performance of Solar Cell Grids based on Ag, Au, and Al for Cost-Effective Manufacturing

We report on the performance of front contact grids based on Ag, Al, and Au applied to III–V multijunction solar cells. We compare their suitability as grid metals from different perspectives, including price, mass-to-conductivity ratio, and abundance. The grid functionality was evaluated by performing charge transport experiments under simulated sunlight. The best solar cell performance was obtained for Ag contacts. On the other hand, Al and Ag provide the most cost-effective approach: when compared to Au, the cost for the grid material for equal conductivities is only about 1.1% for the Ag contacts, and 0.7% for Al.