Advances in electroless nickel plating for the metallization of silicon solar cells using different structuring techniques for the ARC

This paper demonstrates the results of a seed and plate technology, based on electroless nickel on industrial substrates. Through a photoassisted surface activation of the solar cells homogeneous NiP coatings about 30-50 nm thick have been deposited. The combination of this step with inkjet masking and etching has been compared with laser ablation and with standard screen printed cells on standard industrial solar cells. An improvement of 0.5% absolute in efficiency has been achieved thanks to the use of nickel contacts. The advantages and disadvantages of each structuring process are presented. The evaluation of the laser ablation + nickel process on high efficiency structures has delivered FF over 80%.