27%-efficiency silicon heterojunction cell with 98.6% cell-to-module ratio driving new momentum towards the 29.4% limit

Silicon heterojunction technologies based on both-sided nanocrystalline contact layers currently offer the best passivation for commercial solar cells. We further improved this structure with rear-side polishing and progressive RF/VHF PECVD film deposition methods for doping layers, enabling high-pace mass production while maintaining notable passivation quality. Following this optimization, a certified cell efficiency above 27.0% and a fill factor of 87.06% are achieved on a large-area rectangular wafer (210 mm half-cell). With a multibusbar round-ribbon (smart-wire) design, we demonstrate a certified module efficiency of 25.44% and a module fill factor above 86% (for the first time) under a masked area of 1.63 m<sup>2</sup>, which is on par with the current world record module efficiency typically held by back-contact cell structures. Remarkably, the high V<sub>OC</sub> × FF value of 0.652-0.655 V was backed by a solid cell-to-module ratio of 98.6%. With respect to silicon single-junction solar cells, this work demonstrates significant progress toward Auger recombination dominance, a factor that is more critical than reducing front-side optical shading to approach the 29.4% efficiency limit.

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Publication Details

Journal
Nature Communications
Published
2025-10-24
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-64465-0
Citations
7
Primary Topic
Silicon and Solar Cell Technologies
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
5.11
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article

27%-efficiency silicon heterojunction cell with 98.6% cell-to-module ratio driving new momentum towards the 29.4% limit

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Nature Communications
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article

27%-efficiency silicon heterojunction cell with 98.6% cell-to-module ratio driving new momentum towards the 29.4% limit

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article en
7 citations

Abstract

Silicon heterojunction technologies based on both-sided nanocrystalline contact layers currently offer the best passivation for commercial solar cells. We further improved this structure with rear-side polishing and progressive RF/VHF PECVD film deposition methods for doping layers, enabling high-pace mass production while maintaining notable passivation quality. Following this optimization, a certified cell efficiency above 27.0% and a fill factor of 87.06% are achieved on a large-area rectangular wafer (210 mm half-cell). With a multibusbar round-ribbon (smart-wire) design, we demonstrate a certified module efficiency of 25.44% and a module fill factor above 86% (for the first time) under a masked area of 1.63 m<sup>2</sup>, which is on par with the current world record module efficiency typically held by back-contact cell structures. Remarkably, the high V<sub>OC</sub> × FF value of 0.652-0.655 V was backed by a solid cell-to-module ratio of 98.6%. With respect to silicon single-junction solar cells, this work demonstrates significant progress toward Auger recombination dominance, a factor that is more critical than reducing front-side optical shading to approach the 29.4% efficiency limit.

Nature CommunicationsVol. 16(1)
Dalian University of Technology (CN), Beijing Solar Energy Research Institute (CN), Changzhou Institute of Technology (CN), Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics (CN)
Openalex Percentile: Top 4%
Silicon and Solar Cell Technologies
5.11
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