In-line quality control in highefficiency silicon solar cell production

By Johannes M. Greulich, Jonas Haunschild, Stefan Rein, Lorenz Friedrich, Matthias Demant, Alexander Krieg & Martin Zimmer, Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE

There are numerous tools and methods available on the market for the optical and electrical quality control of high-efficiency silicon solar cells during their industrial production, and even more are discussed in the literature. This paper presents a critical review of the possibilities and limitations of these tools along the value chain, from wafer to cell, in the case of passivated emitter and rear cells, as well as a discussion of some showcases. Economic and technological challenges and future trends are addressed.