I-Corps: Effectively transparent contacts for solar applications

这个I-Corps项目的更广泛影响是将太阳能组件的效率提高6%，这是光伏（PV）领域的重大改进。 该项目将标准的丝网印刷金属触点与有效透明触点（ETC）结合在一起，阴影损失降至0%。 光伏生态系统的很大一部分将受益于这项技术。 ETC可以使太阳能组件制造商制造出相对效率高出6%的太阳能组件。 这种更高的效率可以降低土地使用、运输、安装和清洁的总体成本。I-Corps项目进一步开发了有效的透明接触（ETC），可在整个太阳光谱范围内和所有入射角下减轻丝网印刷金属接触固有的遮光损失。ETC是三角形横截面的微尺度金属触点，其将入射光有效地重定向到太阳能电池的有源区域。在不降低栅极电导率的情况下克服前接触遮光损失，可将硅太阳能电池的功率输出提高6%。当用ETC取代标准丝网印刷金属触点时，所用的银量也可以减少。 ETC是通过无残留物的三维微压印工艺制成的，该工艺使太阳能组件制造商能够大规模印刷ETC。到目前为止，ETC与最先进的硅异质结太阳能电池的集成已经在实验室规模上得到了成功的证明。

The broader impact of this I-Corps project is to increase the efficiency of solar modules by up to 6%, a significant improvement in the photovoltaics (PV) space. This project replacies standard screen-printed metal contacts with an effectively transparent contacts (ETC) where the shading loss is brought down to 0%. A significant fraction of the PV ecosystem will benefit from this technology. ETCs can enable solar module manufacturers to fabricate up to 6% higher relative efficiency solar modules. This higher efficiency can lead to reduced cost overall for land use, transportation, installation and cleaning. Therefore, the levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) can potentially be reduced and photovoltaic electricity can become more affordable.This I-Corps project further develops effectively transparent contacts (ETC) that mitigate shading losses inherent to screen-printed metal contacts over the entire solar spectrum and for all angles of incidence. ETCs are triangular cross-section micro-scale metal contacts that redirect the incoming light efficiently to the active area of the solar cell. Overcoming front contact shading loss without reducing the grid conductivity increases the silicon solar cell power output by up to 6%. When replacing standard screen-printed metal contacts with ETCs the amount of used silver can also be reduced. The ETC's are made via a residue-free three-dimensional micro-imprint process that enables large scale printing of ETCs by solar module manufactures. To date, the integration of ETCs with state-of-the-art silicon heterojunction solar cells has been successfully demonstrated on a laboratory scale.