Mechanically scribed double sided buried contact silicon solar cells

A doubled sided buried contact silicon solar cell (BCSC) structure is currently being developed at the University of New South Wales. It is based on the conventional buried contact structure (Wenham, 1986) with the added advantages of potentially higher conversion efficiency and lower production cost. The use of mechanical scribing rather than laser scribing to form the grooves in the silicon substrate has no detrimental effect on the performance of the device and may have the potential to significantly reduce production costs. A DPX-3500 drafting plotter has been adapted to serve as a mechanical scriber. This paper presents the promising results obtained on the new structure.