Work

Damage Characteristics of Silicon Solar Cells Induced by Nanosecond Pulsed Laser

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: The damage characteristics of monocrystalline silicon solar cells irradiated by a nanosecond pulsed laser were investigated in a vacuum environment. An 8 ns pulsed laser was used with a 1064 nm wavelength, a 2.0 J maximum pulse energy, and a millimeter-scale ablation spot diameter. The cells were irradiated by a laser with varying fluences, irradiation positions, and pulse numbers. The damage mechanism was discussed in combination with the degradation of electrical properties, the morphology of surface damage, and electroluminescence images. A single pulse mainly caused surface heating and deformation, while multi-pulse irradiation led to the formation of melting ablation craters. More severe performance degradation was caused by irradiation at the grid line site due to fracture of the grid line electrodes. Moreover, monocrystalline silicon cells showed excellent damage resistance to fixed-position irradiations at non-gridded line areas. This work reveals, for the first time in vacuum, that grid-line fracture dominates performance degradation—enabling targeted hardening for space solar cells.

Source: Photonics

DOI: 10.3390/photonics12080804

Authors: Hao Chang, Weijing Zhou, Yingjie Ma, Zhilong Jian, Xiaoyuan Quan, Chenyu Xiao

Institution: Space Engineering University

Language: English

Topic: Silicon and Solar Cell Technologies

Subfield: Electrical and Electronic Engineering

Field: Engineering

Domain: Physical Sciences

SDG: Affordable and clean energy

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $2,896