Novel heterojunction solar cells with conversion efficiencies approaching 21% on p-type crystalline silicon substrates

We report novel high-efficiency heterojunction (HJ) solar cells with Engineered Low-bandgap Interlayer and Thin Epitaxial emitter (ELITE) structure, achieving a record conversion efficiency of 20.7% on p-type crystalline Si (c-Si) substrates. Cell fabrication is based on plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) of contact layers at temperatures below 200°C and room-temperature sputtering of low-cost Al-doped zinc-oxide (ZnO) electrodes. © 2011 IEEE.