Project Name: Industrially Feasible, Dopant-Free Asymmetric Heterocontact (DASH) Silicon Solar Cells
Funding Opportunity: PVRD2
SETO Subprogram: Photovoltaics
Location: Berkeley, CA
SETO Award Amount: $225,000
Awardee Cost Share: $25,000
Principal Investigator: Ali Javey

This project is investigating novel dopant-free, asymmetric heterocontact (DASH) solar cells to understand the material properties needed for compatible metallization processes and encapsulation processes. Early-stage materials research is being performed to optimize cell architectures and materials in order to increase stability. The end goal of this project is to demonstrate a reliable cell with no significant drop in performance after back‐end processing and 1,000 hours at 85°C and 85 percent relative humidity damp heat testing.

The research team is focused on three areas of improvement. First, the team will fabricate heterocontacts and assess their performance using simple contact resistivity and recombination test structures. Next, full DASH solar cells will be fabricated using electron and hole contacts that have been selected for performance and stability. Finally, DASH cells will be protected using glass-glass encapsulation with a butyl rubber edge sealant and subjected to damp-heat testing.

This project will build upon previous research conducted through a project awarded by the Bay Area Photovoltaic Consortium, which focused on an initial proof-of-concept of the DASH technology. By improving reliability at multiple levels, this project improves the industrial applicability and reliability of DASH technology.