New method of fabricating silicon wafer for the photovoltaic application based on sintering and recrystallization steps

In the present work, a recrystallization process of sintered silicon wafers was studied to produce photovoltaic solar cells. The recrystallization step is carried out by Zone Melting Recrystallization (ZMR) or Full Wafer Recrystallization (FWR). Structural analysis and impurity content of the processed material are presented. Electrical characterization shows that mobility reaches values of 150 and 250 cm2 V−1 s−1 in samples recrystallized by FWR and ZMR with P-type doping of 5×1016 and 3×1017 at/cm3. The lifetime reaches values around 1 μs. After solar cell fabrication, a conversion efficiency of 8.9% is obtained by using a simplified process without texturing.

► Recrystallization process study of sintered silicon wafers to produce photovoltaic solar cells. ► We do a complete structural analysis, impurity content and electrical of the processed material. ► A conversion efficiency of 8.9% is obtained by using a simplified process without texturing.