Low cost processes for fabricating silicon solar cells

Solar cell fabrication processes, in particular junction formation and metallization, are evaluated in terms of cell efficiencies, process yields, module packing factors, and energy cost effectiveness. It is shown that for junction formation, the diffusion processes provide a relatively low-cost approach. The costs per unit cell area can be further reduced by increased wafer area and mechanized wafer handling. The costs for a large number of metallization processes, excluding the costs of the metal, are roughly comparable. However, their varying influence on cell performance leads to a significant spread in the allowable process costs.