Solar Panel Technology 2023

 

  1. TOPCON Technology

 

TOPCON stands for Tunnel Oxide Passivated Contact and is a more advanced N-type silicon cell architecture. TOPCON has an N-Type Silicon substrate and a thin tunneling oxide is applied, followed by a layer of highly doped with n or p poly silicon that contacts the metal at the ends. These tunneling oxide blocks one type of carrier and thus they are called passivating contacts. The TOPCON solar cell efficiency was reported at the laboratory scale in the first and second quarters of 2013 at about 21.8% and 22.9%. In 2014 the efficiency of TOPCON solar cells was improved to 24.3%. N-type mono-crystalline-based bifacial TOPCON solar cells had reached 25.09%. This efficiency is set to increase to 28% after 2028.

2. Heterojunction Cells

The HJT production concept was developed by SANYO Electric in the 1980s. SANYO was the first company to commercially produce solar cells made of amorphous silicon. Heterojunction solar technology is made possible by manufacturing solar cells out of three different layers of photovoltaic material. The top and the bottom layer are made up of thin-film amorphous solar cells, the middle layer is a crystalline solar cell. The thin-film silicon on top captures some sunlight before it hits the crystalline layer, and it also grabs some sunlight that reflects off the layers below. It’s very thin, so much of the sunlight passes right through and the sunlight that passes through the middle i.e the crystalline layer is absorbed by the thin amorphous layer that is below. By building a panel out of a sandwich of three different photovoltaic layers, a heterojunction solar panel can reach efficiencies of 21% or higher. This is comparable to panels that use different technologies to achieve high performance
3. PERC Technology

PERC Technology PERC stands for Passivated Emitter and Rear Cell/Contact. PERC is a bit different from the standard solar cell architecture that has been used for decades. The vast majority of crystalline solar cells produced consists of doped silicon wafers to form PN junction, Aluminium back surface field (AL-BSF),anti-reflective coating on top, and screen printed silver paste on top of the AR coating. The rear part of the solar cell consists of screen-printed aluminum paste. the PERC architecture essentially enables improved light capture near the rear surface and optimizes electrons capture. In PERC technology on the rear surface along with the back surface field, we have a passivation layer and a silicon nitride capping layer. By adopting this technology, there is a 1% increase in inefficiency. While there are more steps in the manufacturing process ultimately due to the increase in efficiency this reduces the costs at the system level.
4. IBC Cell Technology
the interdigitated back contact (IBC) cell was initially studied in the late 1970s. The cells were able to achieve an efficiency of 20% right from the start. Interdigitated Back Contact cells have a grid of conductors on the rear side of the solar cells, unlike conventional solar cells which have busbars and fingers on the front side of the solar cell. Front-side contacts cause partial shading on the front side o the solar cell and reflect some photos this reduces the efficiency a little bit. IBC cells don’t have this problem as they don’t have any contacts on the front side and aesthetically look much cleaner than conventional solar cells. With the industrialization of this process, it will be possible to achieve efficiencies well above 25% at a low cost.
5. Shingled cells

Recent interest in building integrated PV and applications beyond the conventional rooftop solar modules has led to the increased adaptation of shingled solar cells. Shingles cells are solar cells cut into five strips and interconnected using a conductive adhesive. Recently they have been gaining interest in the solar industry due to their aesthetic design, flexibility in terms of shape, and also potentially improved tolerance to shading. The shingled solar cells do not require busbars across the top of the cells so more of the solar cells are exposed to sunlight. Conventional solar panels have cells wired in series so that shading doesn’t affect the power output on a significant level. With no visible busbars and connections, they look cleaner and simpler.
References:

1. Development of topcon tunnel-IBC solar cells with screen-printed fire-through contacts by laser patterning. Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells. Retrieved January 16, 2023, from https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0927024820304323


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