Effect of carbon containing SiNx antireflection coating on the screen-printed contact and low illumination performance of silicon solar cell

ABSTRACT Screen‐printed metal contact formation through a carbon containing antireflection coating was investigated for silicon solar cells by fabricating conventional carbon‐free SiNx and carbon‐rich SiCxNy film. An appreciable difference was found in the average shunt resistance (Rsh), which was about an order of magnitude higher for SiCxNy‐coated solar cells relative to the counterpart SiNx‐coated solar cells. Series resistance (Rs) and fill factor (FF) were comparable for both antireflection coatings but the starting efficiency of SiCxNy‐coated cell was ~0·2% lower because of slightly inferior surface passivation. However, SiCxNy‐coated solar cells showed less degradation under lower illumination (