IncreasingYieldwithPost-FiringAnneal.PDFVIP

IncreasIng YIeld wIth Post-FIrIng anneal A proven way to improve the effi ciency of under-performing screen-printed cells is to introduce a post-fi ring forming gas anneal. This anneal improves several cell aspects and thus increases the effi ciency. The mechanisms behind this improvement are: contact rePaIr  Forming gas annealing (FGA) – helps reduce silver paste glass layer, lowering series resistance hYdrogen PassIVatIon  Hydrogen passivates defects present in the silicon surface and bulk  For advanced cell designs, thermal annealing can help enhance passivation layers such as SiO2, Al2O3, or doped back surface fi eld, which can signifi cantly boost open-circuit voltage deFect rePaIr  Heat can re-crystallize and burn-out defects in the silicon surface or bulk Effi ciency gain after post-fi ring anneal for different anneal conditionsEffi ciency gain after post-fi ring anneal for different anneal conditions Relative gain after post-fi ring anneal for the most important cell metrics. tests haVe shown that an eFFIcIencY gaIn oF UP to 0.8% aBsolUte Is PossIBle. the aVerage gaIn was 0.3% aBsolUte. This improvement is due to an improvement in all cell characteristics as shown in the graph. Since the post-fi ring anneal primarily has an effect on the SiN passivated front side of a standard cell it is expected that the effect would be even larger on double sided passivated cells. The key to maximizing Post-Firing Anneal gains is a high degree of profi le fl exibility. This profi le fl exibility can be achieved via the use of infrared lamps. Low cost of ownership is possible while maintaining low oxygen levels (100ppm) by using small amounts of forming gas.