Design of the Front Contact Metallization Patterns for Solar Cells Using Variable-Width Bezier Curves

The pattern of the front contact metallization critically influences solar cell efficiency. This study introduces a novel explicit geometry optimization approach for designing the front contact metallization patterns. In the proposed approach, the front contact patterns are represented by wide Bezier curves with variable widths, where each curve’s geometry is defined by both control points and control circles. The control point coordinates and the control circle radii are taken as design variables. To ensure physical feasibility during the design process, one of the end control points of each curve is fixed at the current extraction point. Unlike geometry optimization techniques employing fixed-width Bezier curves, our approach provides enhanced design flexibility through continuous width modulation along the front contact paths. Simulation experimental validation across the simple solar cell geometries demonstrates the proposed method’s superior performance relative to both the solid isotropic material with penalization (SIMP) approach and geometry optimization method using a fixed-width Bezier. Furthermore, the optimized front contact metallization structures outperform the conventional H-pattern designs. Specifically, for a solar cell with a size of 3.5 cm, compared to a solar cell with conventional H-pattern front contact electrodes, the conversion efficiency, open-circuit voltage, short-circuit current, and fill factor of the solar cell with curve-shaped front contact metallization are relatively increased by 0.415%, 0.0011 V, and 5.091 A·m−2, and 0.904%, respectively, while the material coverage ratio is reduced by 1.974%. The methodology’s versatility is further evidenced by its successful adaptation to free-form solar cell configurations.