A Study on the Electrodeposition and Silicidation of Nickel-Cobalt Alloys for Silicon Photovoltaic Cell Metallization

Qiang Huang

doi:10.1149/2.0191602jss

Abstract

Metallization of silicon solar cells using electroplating is of interest recently as a cheaper replacement of silver screen printing. Light assisted electroplating of Nickel-Cobalt (NiCo) alloys were studied on crystalline silicon (Si) solar cells in this paper. The effect of illumination was investigated in conjunction with the light absorption properties of the plating solution, emission spectrum of the light source as well as the plating current. A solution dependent threshold light intensity was observed, beyond which the solar cells were under reverse bias during electroplating. The detailed compositional depth profiles of the silicide layer were studied along the silicidation reaction using microscopic energy dispersive X-ray spectrum (EDS). A significant improvement in the performance degradation at high temperature thermal stress was observed for solar cells metalized with the ternary silicide.

Highlights

The cost of solar energy compared with fossil fuel is one of the key determining parameters in its adoption by the market
We previously reported a study on the light assisted electroplating of Ni and the silicidation on silicon solar cells.[25]
NiCo electrodeposition and silicidation were studied on cyrstalline silicon photovoltaic cells fabricated using complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) silicon

Summary

Introduction

The cost of solar energy compared with fossil fuel is one of the key determining parameters in its adoption by the market. The formation of silicide lowers the contact resistance between the metal and Si18 and improves the solar cell performance.

Results

Conclusion