Heterojunction cells require photovoltaic glass

Silicon heterojunction (HJT) solar cells have been recognized as one of the most prominent technologies to improve silicon solar cell power generation, and they currently hold the silicon world record efficiency of 26.81% .

It is also essential to note that although glass-glass modules (less susceptible to moisture ingress) rather than glass-backsheet modules are commonly used for HJT solar cells as studied in this work, it is likely that similar failure modes would occur in these modules, but over longer timescales.

Standard (homojunction) solar cells are manufactured with c-Si for the n-type and p-type layers of the absorbing layer. HJT technology, instead, combines wafer-based PV technology (standard) with thin-film technology, providing heterojunction solar cells with their best features. Structure of HJT solar cell - Source: De Wolf, S. et al.

There are several steps involved in the manufacturing process of the heterojunction solar cell. These are the following: The wafer processing involves cutting the c-Si cells with a diamond-based saw. Performing this process with extreme delicacy will result in high-quality c-Si layers, which translates to higher efficiency.

Heterojunction solar panels are extremely versatile, opening the way for the solar industry to further increase applications for solar power. These are some of the most common applications for this technology. HJT high conversion efficiency makes it great for limited space applications.

There are two varieties of c-Si, polycrystalline and monocrystalline silicon, but monocrystalline is the only one considered for HJT solar cells since it has a higher purity and therefore more efficient. Amorphous silicon is used in thin-film PV technology and is the second most important material for manufacturing heterojunction solar cells.