Solar PV cell efficiency research focus on material and structure innovation

Due to the green energy priority all over the world and continued fall in the average selling price of solar PV cells , the global demand for solar PV is expected to reach 75 GW in 2019, which is 66% higher than in 2014, according to IHS. IHS has forecasted the average selling price of solar to decline by 27% between 2015 and 2019, reaching $0.45 per watt (W). All this positive market growth resulting in focused research in increasing the conversion efficiency of solar PV cells. Below are some of the latest activities in this area: 1. imec announced a new record efficiency for its large area n-type PERT (passivated emitter, rear totally diffused) crystalline silicon (Cz-Si) solar cell, now reaching 22.5 percent . IMEC says it is the highest efficiency achieved for a two-side-contacted solar cell processed on six inch commercially available n-type Cz-Si wafers without the use of passivated contacts. N-type silicon solar cells perform better than p-type solar cells in withstanding light-induced degradation and are more tolerant to common metal impurities. imec is innovating on the material and architecture in improving n-PERT solar cell performance by using Ni/Cu/Ag front contacts, rear local contacts, a diffused front surface field (FSF) and a rear emitter. The cells achieved an independently confirmed open-circuit voltage (Voc) of 689mV, a short-circuit current (Jsc)...