Shadow masking and tunnel contacts: A low cost process for high efficiency IBC solar cells

Interdigitated back-contact (IBC) solar cells are the logical next step towards ever-higher performing single junction solar cells. Adoption of this promising technology has been held back by the high manufacturing cost. This paper presents our solution: An industrial ten-step low cost process that nevertheless manages to reach very high efficiencies. A simple way to check the layer quality of the patterned nanocrystalline tunnel stack via resistance measurements is shown as well.