Laser‐Patterned n‐Type Front‐Junction Silicon Solar Cell With Tantalum Oxide/Silicon Nitride Passivation and Antireflection

This work demonstrates, for the first time, a tantalum oxide/silicon nitride (Ta 2 O 5 /SiN x ) stack as a combined passivation and antireflection coating deposited on the boron‐diffused front surface of n‐type silicon solar cells. Due to the high chemical resistance of Ta 2 O 5 , the patterning of the films is realized via picosecond laser ablation, followed by a field‐induced metal plating of nickel and copper to form the front metal grid electrode. A solar cell conversion efficiency of 19.3% is achieved, and further improvements are anticipated from the optimization of the laser ablation process and the tuning of the thickness of the individual layers of the dielectric stack.