Laser recrystallization for efficient multi-crystalline silicon solar cell

A multi-crystalline silicon wafer contains dislocations and grain boundaries, which are detrimental to the performance of the multi-crystalline silicon solar cell. The dislocations and grain boundaries extend across the junction and dramatically degrade the ideality and fill factor of the cell. In this paper, a laser is used to recrystallize the emitter region of a multi-crystalline silicon wafer to remove crystallographic defects present in the junction. It was demonstrated that, with an appropriate laser power and scan speed, laser recrystallized patterns can have an enhanced photoluminescence response and internal quantum efficiency. Backscattered electron image and x-ray diffraction analyses also revealed that the laser recrystallized layer resembles a single crystalline like layer. Introducing a full area laser recrystallized layer may improve the open circuit voltage and fill factor of the cell, which significantly improved cell efficiency. External quantum efficiency and dark I–V measurements consistently supported this result.