Solar Cells

During an interim assignment in 2010 for Solland Solar, on the border of The Netherlands and Germany near Aachen, Frank gained extensive experience in the production and optimization of solar cells. The conversion efficiency of these cells is a main topic for solar cells, and Frank coordinated three projects for efficiency improvement:

1. Selective Emitter
   By selective doping of the metal contact area the solar cell emitter could remain low doped, giving less recombination losses.
2. Advanced Metallization
   By printing metal connections thinner less shadowing was accomplished
3. Rear Side Passivation
   By applying Al₂O₃ on the backside of the wafers a repelling electrical field strongly reduced backside recombination

All this, in cooperation with equipment suppliers, resulted in in an efficiency improvement from 15.5% to 18% on multi-crystalline cells in a process that was released for production.