NREL is a national laboratory of the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Energy 

Efficiency & Renewable Energy, operated by the Alliance for Sustainable Energy, LLC.

Contract No. DE-AC36-08GO28308

Thin Single Crystal Silicon Solar 

Cells on Ceramic Substrates 

November 2009 — November 2010

Andy Kumar and K.V. Ravi

Crystal Solar, Inc.

Santa Clara, California

Subcontract Report

NREL/SR-5200-51935

June 2011
NREL is a national laboratory of the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Energy 

Efficiency & Renewable Energy, operated by the Alliance for Sustainable Energy, LLC.

National Renewable Energy Laboratory

1617 Cole Boulevard

Golden, Colorado 80401

303-275-3000 • www.nrel.gov

Contract No. DE-AC36-08GO28308

Thin Single Crystal Silicon 

Solar Cells on Ceramic 

Substrates 

November 2009 — November 2010

Andy Kumar and K.V. Ravi

Crystal Solar, Inc.

Santa Clara, California

NREL Technical Monitor: Harin S. Ullal

Prepared under Subcontract No. NEU-0-99010-06

Subcontract Report

NREL/SR-5200-51935

June 2011
This publication was reproduced from the best available copy

submitted by the subcontractor and received no editorial review at NREL.

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1 

1 Summary

In this program we have been developing a technology for fabricating thin (< 50 μm) single 

crystal silicon wafers on foreign substrates. We reverse the conventional approach of depositing 

or forming silicon on foreign substrates by depositing or forming thick (200 to 400 μm) ceramic 

materials on high quality single crystal silicon films ~ 50 μm thick. Our key innovation is the 

fabrication of thin, refractory, and self-adhering ‘handling layers or substrates’ on thin epitaxial 

silicon films in-situ, from powder precursors obtained from low cost raw materials. This 

‘handling layer’ has sufficient strength for device and module processing and fabrication. 

Successful production of full sized (125 mm X 125 mm) silicon on ceramic wafers with 50 μm 

thick single crystal silicon has been achieved and device process flow developed for solar cell 

fabrication. Impurity transfer from the ceramic to the silicon during the elevated temperature 

consolidation process has resulted in very low minority carrier lifetimes and resulting low cell 

efficiencies. Detailed analysis of minority carrier lifetime, metals analysis and device 

characterization have been done. A full sized solar cell efficiency of 8% has been demonstrated. 

2 Introduction

2.1 Background

Silicon wafer based photovoltaics dominate the PV industry today with over 80% of all PV 

products manufactured and deployed today being based on crystalline silicon technology. 

Notwithstanding the dominant position of this technology, future cost reductions need a dramatic 

change in the way wafer based PV is manufactured. In particular the materials and capital 

intensive nature of the manufacturing process need to be addressed with radical technologies.

1. Silicon wafer thicknesses have been reduced over the years but seem to have reached a 

limit of around 160 to 180 microns based on wire saw technology. In addition kerf loss 

below about 100 microns does not appear to be feasible due to limitations in wire 

diameter and wire strength. A major problem with wafers below about 160 microns is the 

need to develop entirely new concepts for handling and processing thin (especially wafers 

< 50 μm thick- the minimum thickness for achieving the maximum efficiency) wafers 

during device and module manufacture. In addition the cost reduction achievable by these 

approaches is not substantial. 

2. A second approach for reducing silicon usage is to deposit or form silicon films on 

foreign substrates such as glass,metal, ceramic, using CVD or PVD techniques. However 

these approaches also suffer from major drawbacks: the silicon films are not single 

crystalline, since no epitaxy is involved, generally being amorphous or micro or multi 

crystalline; advanced cell processing approaches, such as back and front surface 

passivation, the formation of effective back side dielectric mirrors, cannot be applied to 

such structures as the back side (the silicon- foreign substrate interface) is not accessible. 

These factors preclude achieving high cell efficiencies. 

In this program we have been developing a technology which avoids the problems discussed 

above with thin wafers and silicon on foreign substrates by combining the two concepts in a 

novel way. We reverse the conventional approach of depositing or forming silicon on foreign 

substrates by depositing or forming thick (200 to 400 μm) ceramic materials on high quality 
2 

single crystal silicon films ~ 50 μm thick. Our key innovation is the fabrication of thin, 

refractory, and self-adhering ‘handling layers or substrates’ on thin epitaxial silicon films in-situ, 

from powder precursors obtained from low cost raw materials. This ‘handling layer’ has 

sufficient strength for device processing, including module fabrication. This approach will: 

• Minimize silicon usage by a direct vapor to solid process for thin, single crystal 

silicon wafer manufacture. This process eliminates the need for polysilicon, crystal 

growth or ingot casting and the machining and wafering of crystals and ingots (poly 

free, ingot free, kerf free process). This is a core technology being developed at 

Crystal Solar. Wafers from this activity are made available to this program. 

• Enable handling and processing of thin ( < 50 μm) large area ( currently 125 mm X 

125 mm) single crystal wafers by the fabrication of the composite silicon- ceramic 

wafers. 

• Robust wafers that can be handled in processing and packaging by combining thin 

silicon with strong ceramic substrates. 

The major features of our technology include the following: 

3. Electrochemically creating thin (< 3 microns) porous silicon layers of the desired 

microstructure on high quality single crystal silicon wafers. 

4. Growing epitaxial films on the porous layers to thicknesses of ~ 50 microns. An in- site 

p+p junction is created to function as a back surface field in the solar cell by increasing 

the boron doping level for the last 2 to 4 microns of the epitaxial layer.

5. Following this, a dense and strong ceramic substrate from powder precursors is formed 

on the rear side (front side of the epitaxial film). The ceramic is formed in a grid pattern 

to incorporate openings in the ceramic for the back contact for the subsequently 

fabricated solar cell. The materials, in the form of a paste are dispensed on the wafer 

followed by elevated temperature consolidation of the ceramic to form a rigid body. 

6. Following the formation of the strong ceramic reinforcing grid the epitaxial film with the 

device structure is exfoliated (removed) at the porous silicon interface and the original 

silicon substrate reused, multiple times, for subsequent porous layer creation, epitaxial 

deposition and ceramic formation. 

7. The thin epitaxial layer attached to the thicker (up to 400 microns) ceramic film is now 

easy to handle for solar cell processing ( surface cleaning, texture etching, junction 

formation, surface passivation and silicon nitride ARC layer deposition followed by front 

and back side metallization) and for interconnecting and packaging of the cells using 

conventional technology. 
3 

3 Task Descriptions, Results, and Discussion

Task 1: Develop ceramic compositions suitable for the in-situ fabrication of 

handling layer on thin epitaxial silicon wafer to facilitate solar cell processing.

We initially developed and evaluated four candidate materials for the handling layer. These 

materials are characterized by their ability to sinter from powder in the temperature range of 850 

°to 1000 °C, to reasonably strong ( MOR ~10000 psi) ceramic bodies having coefficient of 

thermal expansion, CTE, matched to that of silicon, and adhering well to oxidized silicon. The 

MgO-Al2O3-SiO2 glass composition finally selected sinters well from its powder in the 

temperature range from 825° to 975 °C, concurrently crystallizing to low CTE cordierite glassceramic body. We could manipulate the CTE of the glass-ceramic layer in small increments and 

in a controlled manner, by adding mineral cordierite. This enabled us to fabricate ceramic layers 

that closely followed the CTE curve for silicon from its firing temperature, as shown in Figure 1. 

While little or no curvature is desired in the composite wafer, the CTE of ceramic has to remain 

higher than that of silicon, to avoid putting the silicon in tension. This will create convex 

curvature towards silicon, depending on the thickness of the ceramic layer. With ~ 200- 300 μm 

ceramic, the wafer curvatures from 150 to 100 μm, respectively, in our 125 mm wafers, could be 

obtained with chosen ceramic composition. These wafers became nearly flat after phosphorus 

diffusion because of the compressive stress generated on the front surface of the epitaxial silicon. 

Figure 1. Variation of Coefficient of Thermal Expansion of Three Ceramic Candidates as 

compared with that of silicon. Credit: Crystal Solar.

Figure 2 shows cross sections of the silicon –ceramic composite wafer showing a continuous, 

void free interface between the two materials.

0.000

0.001

0.002

0.003

0.004

0.005

0.006

0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200

Expansion (in/in)

Temperature (C)

Thermal Expansion

CS-005 

H

CS005+C H

G-1+C H

Literature Silicon from
4 

Figure 2: SEM Cross-Section through epi Silicon – Ceramic showing good interface between the 

two. (Data from NREL) 

Modeling of ceramic-epi configuration 

The ceramic layer was formed in a grid structure with openings to the wafer surface to allow for 

forming backside cell contacts. The presence of these openings was of concern for its possible 

impact on stress and curvature. We modeled a configuration that had 3 mm wide ceramic lines 

with 1 mm line spacing, with 300 μm thick, in an X and Y grid pattern. The model shows very 

minimal tensile stress in the ceramic (Figure 3) and, more importantly, a small compressive 

stress in the silicon attached to it. 

Figure 3. Results of stress model of a ceramic – Si composite wafer with a multiplicity of holes in 

the ceramic for ohmic contacts to the back side of the solar cell. Credit: Crystal Solar.

The chosen ceramic was found to be compatible with process chemicals and other device 

processing operations. Although HF attacks the glassy phase on the exposed surfaces of the 
5 

ceramic surface, reasonable exposure to HF, Alkali (hot KOH) for texture etching of silicon are 

safe for the ceramic layer. Thermal compatibility requires re-heating of the Si-ceramic composite 

wafers to diffusion, and or thick film firing temperatures of ~ 900 C. The thermal shock 

resistance of the ceramic-silicon composite under RTP conditions was also tested and found to 

be excellent.

Task 2: Development of optimized application methods for forming ceramic 

handling layer on the epitaxial surface

Several known techniques for depositing the ceramic precursor were explored. These included 

stencil printing, green tape attachment, and nozzle dispensing. For these explorations we 

developed in-house capabilities for making suitable pastes and slurries. Each of these methods 

had certain advantages and disadvantages. The requirement for making numerous, small, and 

well distributed openings in the ceramic layer posed the biggest challenge. Nozzle dispensing of 

the ceramic paste with a programmable ‘robot’ has been able to produce thick (~ 600 μm) paste 

deposits in a regular X – Y grid pattern, with the openings generated automatically (Figure 5). 

The non-contact nature of the dispensing method is of particular advantage because of the 

delicate nature of the epi-silicon surface. It has the ability to independently vary the deposit 

thickness, the line width and spacing, to produce deposits with a range of openings. We now 

routinely fabricate full sized, ceramic-grid-supported- epitaxial-silicon wafers, for cell 

fabrication. 

Task 3: Materials Quality 

Minority carrier lifetime

An attraction of thin silicon wafers is that the minority carrier lifetime can be relatively low as 

long as the diffusion length is 2 to 3 times the wafer thickness. So for a 50 micron thick film a 

diffusion length of ~ 150 microns for 1 Ohm-cm p type epitaxial film would need to have a 

minimum diffusion length of 5 to 10 micro seconds. 

Figure 4. Example of our early attempts at the 

fabrication of thin silicon on ceramic wafers. On the 

left is shown the back, ceramic side and on the right 

is the silicon epitaxy. In this case a blanket ceramic 

layer was dispensed on to the epitaxial film, 

consolidated at elevated temperature and the thin epi 

exfoliated from the substrate. We transitioned into 

fabricating a ceramic grid structure to enable back 

contact formation. (Figure 5) Credit: Crystal Solar.

125 mm 
6 

Figure 5. Ceramic dispensing tool (left) with an X-Y translatable nozzle for creating the grid pattern 

on the pi layer. On the right is shown the ceramic grid on the epitaxial layer after consolidation on 

a 125 mm X 125 mm wafer. Credit: Crystal Solar.

 

A substantial aspect of this program has dealt with approaches to preserving the inherently good 

minority carrier lifetime of the epitaxially deposited films, following ceramic formation and 

consolidated on these films. Figure 6 shows the minority carrier lifetime of epitaxial films (50 

microns thick) after gettering, using a typical phosphorus diffusion step characteristic of junction 

formation processes for solar cell fabrication. These samples have not been integrated with the 

ceramic materials. Average lifetime of 50 micron thick wafers fabricated over the course of a 

year is ~ 25 μ seconds.

Figure 6. Minority carrier lifetime, as measured by the microwave PCD technique, of gettered thin 

(50 μm) epitaxial films plotted as a function of time. Average lifetimes of ~ 25 microseconds are 

realized which translates to a diffusion length over 250 microns- 5 times the wafer thickness.

These films have not been subjected to ceramic processing. Credit: Crystal Solar.

In this program a goal was to have lifetime degradation of < 20% from a baseline of 10 μ-secs

due to impurities in the ceramic handling layer and the potential diffusion of these impurities into 
7 

the silicon. We have used the microwave PCD tool for lifetime mapping of wafers as the 

primary metrology for establishing the quality, in terms of carrier lifetime, of the silicon-ceramic 

wafers. Figure 7 shows microwave PCD maps of a 50 micron thick silicon wafer and a silicon on 

ceramic wafer. Both these sample were subjected to a phosphorus gettering step at 925 C for 60 

minutes. Despite gettering the lifetime for the silicon-ceramic wafer is below 1.0 μ-secs while 

the epi film alone, without being attached to the ceramic, has aminority carrier lifetime of 23 -

sec. In addition to possible impurity contamination of the silicon from the ceramic, the rear 

surface, the interface between the silicon and the ceramic is not passivated while the top surface 

of the silicon is passivated with iodine during lifetime measurement. Consequently carrier 

recombination at the rear surface and bulk recombination are contributing to the low overall 

lifetime. 

In order to prevent or minimize impurity transfer from the ceramic into the silicon we have 

evaluated diffusion barriers, such as silicon oxide, and silicon nitride. Table 1 summarizes the 

data on diffusion barriers. 

 

 

Figure 7. Impurities from the ceramic are transported into the silicon degrading lifetime from a 

baseline value of ~ 23 μsec to < 1 μsec. Credit: Crystal Solar. 
8 

Table 1. Impact of Nitride and Oxide diffusion barriers between the epitaxial layer and the ceramic. 

Although an oxide was found to be better than a low temperature PECVD Nitride film as a 

diffusion barrier the degradation in lifetime was still not acceptable in terms of meeting the target, 

indicating that these dielectrics are not good diffusion barriers to heavy metals.

Thicker (1 μm) oxide films as well as composite oxide-nitride films have been tested as diffusion 

barriers with no improvement. We also find a distribution of lifetime in the silicon that 

corresponds to the ceramic grid pattern an example of which is shown in Figure 8. 

 

 

Metals analysis

The substantial reduction in lifetime of the epitaxial films following the ceramic dispensing and 

consolidation process can be attributed to metals contamination of the silicon, although there is 

some indication that stress in the silicon can contribute to lifetime reduction (1). The silicon in 

Sample and process Ave. lifetime Median Std. DeviationComments

~ 50 μm thick epitaxial film with an ~ 6 μm 

p+ layer for a BSF followed by phosphorus 

gettering at 890 C for 30 min. followed by 

the deposition of a Si3N4 film ( 70 nm) 6.0 μ sec 6.23 μ sec 20.00%

Represents the bulk lifetime 

of this epi sample

Above film integrated with ceramic material 

by forming a ceramic grid on the epi ( with a 

6 micron BSFand a Si3N4 layer) followed by 

thermal consolidation 0. 63 μ sec 0. 63 μ sec 43.60%

Silicon Nitride not a very 

effective barier to metal 

diffusion.

Above film integrated with ceramic material 

by forming a ceramic grid on the epi ( with a 

6 micron BSFand 100 nm layer of thermal 

oxide)) followed by thermal consolidation 4. 01 μ sec 3. 8 μ sec 27%

Thermal oxide is better 

diffusion barrier to metallic 

impurities than than low 

temperature PECVD Nitride

Above film integrated with ceramic material 

by forming a ceramic grid on the epi ( with a 

6 micron BSFand a Si3N4 layer) followed by 

thermal consolidation. Sample gettered at 

high er temperature of 925 C for 60 minutes 4. 65 μ sec 4. 73 μ sec 41.40%

Higher temperature gettering 

improves lifetime slightly. 

Higher temperature may also 

densify PECVD nitride and 

improve its ability to 

function as a diffusion 

barrier

Figure 8. Higher lifetime values correspond 

to the openings in the ceramic support 

structure. This a consequence of surface 

passivation by the iodine, used in the μW 

pcd measurement. Iodine is blocked by the 

ceramic grid leading to higher surface 

recombination velocity at these regions.

Credit: Crystal Solar.
9 

the composite material is kept in compression by manipulating the CTEs of the two materials. 

However our major thrust has been in understanding impurity effects as this is the most likely 

cause of lifetime degradation. Metallic impurities, particularly iron and titanium occur is 

amounts of 0.5% by weight in the ceramic materials. 

We have attempted to analyze the silicon wafers, after ceramic formation and consolidation for 

heavy metals with mixed results. 

ICPMS Analyses of Epi-silicon attached to ceramic

We carried out Laser - ICPMS analysis of the epitaxial silicon, a technique that permitted 

analysis of the silicon while still attached to the ceramic grid structure. This technique showed no 

contamination in the epi-silicon. The detection limits for the impurities of interest was 0.05 ppm 

or 50 ppb. To improve on the detection limit of Laser ICPMS, a sample of the same wafer was 

prepared for ICMPS by total solution method, by dissolving away the ceramic grid over 3 days 

in concentrated HF acid. This analysis again showed no impurities attributable to the ceramic. 

However, two anomalies showed up in this sample, copper at 94 ppb, and silver at 119 ppb. 

These impurities were far above the detection limits for these elements in the ‘Laser ICPMS’ of 

20 ppb and 2 ppb, respectively. Also, silver is an unlikely impurity in the ceramic. We attribute 

its presence in the latter analysis, and by association that of copper, to adventitious impurities 

entering the large, open dish we used during 3 days of glass dissolution. Figure 9 shows the 

results of these two analyses superimposed. 

Figure 9. Solution and Laser based ICPMS of a silicon on ceramic wafer showing very low levels 

of metals and spurious amounts of Copper and Silver. Credit: Crystal Solar.

Iron detection by μW-pcd 

A very elegant technique for detecting Iron in silicon is the use of the μW pcd technique. The 

process is as follows:

1. Obtain the lifetime map of the sample using a μW- pcd tool (before) 

2. Dissociate Fe-B pairs by high intensity illumination of the sample (flash lamp of 3000W). 

3. Obtain lifetime map after illumination (after).

4. Calculate the iron concentration using the relation:
10 

This procedure works well when the measured lifetime is dominated by bulk recombination and 

the surface recombination is negligible.

Figure 10 shows data using this technique indicating an iron concentration of 1.5 E13/cm3

 in the 

silicon on ceramic sample. With this technique we find iron concentration to be about two orders 

of magnitude higher than in typical, good quality, Czochralski wafers. 

Figure 10. Microwave pcd technique in combination with light induced dissociation of Iron – 

Boron pairs for Iron detection. Credit: Crystal Solar.

The conflicting metals data with different analytical techniques can be attributed to process 

variations in the fabrication process with different samples being contaminated to different 

degrees. In order to unambiguously establish the impurity content and type in the silicon on 

ceramic wafers a much larger and statistically meaningful data set is required. Since the 

governing factors are minority carrier lifetime and solar cell I-V data we have concentrated our 

efforts on these parameters.
11 

Task 4: Device fabrication and testing 

The basic process flow for solar cell fabrication we have developed with the silicon on ceramic 

structure is shown schematically in Figure 11. We have processed the ceramic-epi composites 

into silicon solar cells, based on front junction architecture (n+/p/p+). Device details include: 

(1) Production of 50 micron thick, p-type, epitaxial films on porous silicon with ~ 1 ohm-cm 

bulk resistivity with a 2 to 5μm thick heavily boron doped layer on the surface to function as a 

p+p back surface field

(2) Oxidizing or depositing a silicon nitride layer by PECVD on the epitaxial film. [These films

were originally expected to perform three functions- diffusion barriers for metallic impurities 

from the ceramic, as rear surface passivation and as a means of blocking phosphorus diffusion at 

the back during the subsequent emitter formation step. However the oxide (or nitride) is found to 

only function as a barrier to phosphorus diffusion and not as a barrier to fast diffusers (Table 1) 

and the potential passivation effects of the dielectrics are destroyed by the high temperature 

associated with ceramic consolidation and impurity diffusion from the ceramic.] 

(3) Integrating the candidate ceramic layer on the wafer with appropriate openings in the ceramic 

for ohmic contacts 

(4) Consolidating the ceramic material at a temperature of ~ 1000 C to densify it to form a rigid 

handle material.

(4) Exfoliate the thin epitaxial layer with the attached ceramic to form a free standing wafer with 

50 micron silicon on a ceramic handle. 

(5) Front side device processing with texture etch, phosphorus diffusion, ARC layer deposition 

and TiPdAg grid by lift-off process. 

(6) Formation of back side contacts by evaporating/sputtering aluminum/ nickel vanadium. 
12 

Figure 11. Basic fabrication sequence for silicon on ceramic wafers. Credit: Crystal Solar.

The process flow is shown in detail in Figure 12. 

Figure 12. Device process flow for solar cell fabrication using 50 micron thick silicon on ceramic 

wafers. Credit: Crystal Solar.
13 

Solar Cell Data

 As fabricated

Annealed in Forming Gas 

Solar cell data from early in the program is shown in Figure 13. We see a substantial impact of 

annealing the device, at 275 C for 15 minutes, in forming gas after device fabrication. We 

attribute this to improved ohmic contact at the rear side of the device, between the aluminum and 

the silicon. We find a direct correlation between the conversion efficiency and the Rs (the series 

resistance) as shown in Figure 14. 

Figure 13. I-V characteristics of 50 

micron thick device on ceramic 

substrate, before and after forming 

gas anneal. Photograph shows the 

first device (~ 100 sq.cm.) fabricated 

with the novel Si on Ceramic 

wafers. Credit: Crystal Solar.
14 

Figure 14. Conversion Efficiency Vs Rs in Early Epitaxial Silicon on Ceramic solar cells

We have been using PC-1D simulations to guide the process development efforts in cell 

fabrication. In the chart in Table 2 we compare the measured cell efficiency of 7.37 % and the 

associated cell parameters with predictions from PC1D simulations.

Table 2. Comparison of measured data and PC1D simulation
15 

PC1D predicts an efficiency of 8.8% when the various device and material parameters are 

entered into the model. The short circuit current values are fairly well predicted. However the 

Voc and the fill factors predicted by the model are higher than measured values, indicating issues 

with junction quality, contact resistance and possible shunting effects. We achieve efficiencies of 

7.37% (8.78 % as predicted by the model) for lifetime values of < 1 μ-sec. Clearly higher 

lifetime will increase the efficiency as indicted in the simulation where a 5 microsecond lifetime 

predicts efficiencies near 10%. 

A device with close to 8% efficiency was fabricated by improving the back contact resulting 

from better pre metal cleaning. The I-V curve and the spectral response are shown in Figure 15. 

 

Figure 15. I-V and spectral response characteristics of full area (154.5 sq.cm), highest efficiency 

silicon on ceramic device fabricated to date. (Data from NREL). A quantum efficiency of 100% is 

achieved at a wavelength of 656 nm but with a rapid drop off at shorter and longer wavelengths on 

either side. This is discussed further below. 

A more detailed PC1D simulation has been carried out with some key controllable parameters as 

inputs to determine the achievable efficiency with these wafers. The data is shown in Table 3. 
16 

According to the simulations the achievement of > 15 % efficiency requires a lifetime of 10 μsec. Other device improvements that enhance efficiency include:

• Shallower junctions for increased blue response 

• Substantial reduction in the front surface recombination velocity by over two orders 

of magnitude

• Improved front reflectivity ( better texturing and AR coatings)

Table 3. PC1D simulation showing the impact of critical device and materials parameters on 

achievable cell efficiency

Two key features required for achieving high efficiency in thin silicon wafers - back surface 

passivation and back reflectors using appropriate dielectric stacks for reflecting IR light, are not 

readily feasible for the silicon on ceramic structures. This is a result of:

Rear surface passivation

Parameter Ceramic cell - May 2010 Shallower emitter Reduce series resistance 

(better back contact)

Improve Front SRV 

(surface cleans)

Reduce front 

reflectivity Improve R-shunt Improve Lifetime

Emitter sheet res 40-50 ohm/sq 80-90 ohm/sq 80-90 ohm/sq 80-90 ohm/sq 40-50 ohm/sq 40-50 ohm/sq 40-50 ohm/sq

Passivation/ARC 1000A thermal oxide 1000A thermal oxide 1000A thermal oxide 1000A thermal oxide

130A thermal 

oxide + Hi-temp 

PECVD SiN (700A, 

360C)

130A thermal 

oxide + Hi-temp 

PECVD SiN (700A, 

360C)

130A thermal oxide 

+ Hi-temp PECVD 

SiN (700A, 360C)

Refractive Index 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.9 1.9 1.9

Reflectivity after ARC 2%-15% 2%-15% 2%-15% 2%-15% 2%-8% 2%-8% 2%-8%

Front-side metallization details 200A Ti/500A Pd/2 um Ag 

followed by lift-off

200A Ti/500A Pd/2 

um Ag followed by 

lift-off

200A Ti/500A Pd/2 um Ag 

followed by lift-off

200A Ti/500A Pd/2 um 

Ag followed by lift-off

Ferro NS33-510 Ag 

paste; 980C, 

100in/min 

Despatch

Ferro NS33-510 Ag 

paste; 980C, 

100in/min 

Despatch

Ferro NS33-510 Ag 

paste; 980C, 

100in/min 

Despatch

Jsc (mA/cm2) 24.98

Voc (mV) 561.9

Fill Factor (%) 52.5

Efficiency (%) 7.37

R-shunt (ohm-cm2) 273

R-series (ohm-cm2) 4.93

Epi Thickness (um) 40 40 40 40 40 40 40

Front texture depth (um) 10 10 10 10 10 10 10

Exterior Front Reflectance (%) 10 10 10 10 6 6 6

Internal Rear Reflectance (%) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Junction Depth (um) 1.25 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.6

p+ BSF Thickness (um) 4 4 4 4 4 4 4

Bulk lifetime (usec) 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 10

Front SRV (cm/s) 700000 (7.0e5) 700000 (7.0e5) 700000 (7.0e5) 7000 (7.0e3) 7000 (7.0e3) 7000 (7.0e3) 7000 (7.0e3)

Rear SRV (cm/s) 1e7 1e7 1e7 1e7 1e7 1e7 1e7

1/R-shunt (Siemens) 1 1 1 1 1 0.38 0.38

R-series (ohm) 4.8E-02 4.8E-02 1.0E-02 1.0E-02 1.0E-02 1.0E-02 1.0E-02

Jsc (mA/cm2) 23.92 25.8 26.73 29.3 30.61 30.81 32.84

Voc (mV) 581 578.6 578.5 592.4 593.8 597.3 643.2

Fill Factor (%) 56.2 56.0 64.4 65.5 65.9 72.8 74.1

Efficiency (%) 7.81 8.36 9.96 11.38 11.97 13.41 15.65

: Typically rear surface passivation is achieved with dielectrics such as 

silicon oxide and silicon nitride. Although we either grow oxides or deposit nitride films on the 

epitaxial film surface the high temperatures associated with the subsequent ceramic 

consolidation step and more importantly, the diffusion of impurities from the ceramic is expected 
17 

to severely compromise the quality of the interface between the silicon and the dielectric, 

negating any positive impact of surface passivation. 

However the lack of effective rear surface passivation is not expected to be an issue since the use 

of epitaxy to grow the films enables the formation of an in-situ p+p junction which shields 

electrons from the rear surface of the wafer. Since all our wafers have built in electron reflectors 

(p+p junction) we are not depending upon rear surface passivation for reduced SRV.

Rear photon reflectors

Quantum Efficiency Characterization

 On the other hand the need for rear reflectors for infrared light that is 

not absorbed by the silicon becomes more important as the wafer thickness is reduced. A very 

effective dielectric stack on the back is required to reflect long wavelength photons back into the 

silicon to achieve higher currents. Typically a dielectric stack would be composed of low 

refractive index dielectric (such as SiO2) with a reflective metal (Al) film on top with appropriate 

contact openings in the dielectric for back ohmic contact. With the ceramic consolidation process 

being a high temperature (> 800o C) process such a dielectric stack would not survive ceramic 

consolidation and the aluminum would melt at these temperatures. 

We have done a more detailed analysis of the quantum efficiency of the silicon-ceramic cell as 

compared with thin epitaxial device bonded to glass (using EVA) which enables the processing 

of the back side of the cell for the formation of dielectric stacks. 

Figure 16. IQE vs. wavelength using a LBIC tool comparing the silicon- ceramic device (NREL 

data) with two 50 micron thick cells bonded to glass using EVA. Emitter passivation and a 

dielectric stack on the back have substantial impact on the blue and red response respectively, as 

expected. The Si-Ceramic cell suffers from poor blue and red response due to the lack of these 

two surface attributes. Our LBIC tool has only the four wavelengths shown; consequently the 

observed 100% QE for the Si-Ceramic cell at 656 nm is not shown. Credit: Crystal Solar.

In Figure 16 is compared the QE of the ~ 8% efficiency Silicon on Ceramic cell with two cells 

fabricated using silicon bonded to glass. These two cells were processed differently with in one 

case no emitter passivation and no dielectric stack on the back and in the second case a 

passivated emitter and a SiO2/Al dielectric stack on the back. 
18 

The observation of a quantum efficiency of 100% at a wavelength of 656 nm can be explained 

according to the following model shown schematically in Figure 17. 

 

Although the bulk lifetime of the silicon on ceramic wafer is low (< 1 μ-sec) regions of the wafer 

in close proximity to the phosphorus doped region (the n+ region) can be effectively gettered and 

the local metals content reduced. This region is also the region being sampled by the 656 nm 

wavelength light and shows a quantum efficiency of 100%. At shorter and longer wavelengths 

the QE is substantially reduces as a consequence of losses in the heavily doped emitter, the lack 

of emitter passivation, poor lifetime in the bulk and lack of a back reflector. (see Figure 16) 

Based on work to date on this program we are unlikely to improve the lifetime of the silicon on 

ceramic wafers with existing ceramic materials and the high temperatures of consolidation of the 

ceramic. Consequently the only opportunity for improving device characteristics is to improve 

the front side of the device – better junction quality, uniformity, oxide passivation of the surface 

and more uniform ARC. Fill factor improvement has to be addressed by better junction quality 

(reduced junction leakage) and better contacts, especially at the back. 

In this context the last set of devices fabricated with silicon on ceramic wafers on this program 

are based on the following process flow: 

Figure 17. A model to explain 

the high QE at 656 nm. Credit: 

Crystal Solar.
19 

Typical POCl3 based emitter formation is done with a two step process with a pre-deposition step 

involving the formation of a Phospho-Silicate glass (PSG) on the silicon surface by injecting 

oxygen and POCl3 into the diffusion furnace at ~ 845 C. Following this is a drive in step at ~850 

to 1000 C whereby the phosphorus is driven in deeper to achieve the requisite junction depth. An 

issue with this diffusion recipe is the formation of a region near the surface with very high 

phosphorus concentration exceeding the solubility of phosphorus in silicon (2E20 atoms/cc). 

This region, often called the dead layer, introduces high surface and near surface recombination. 

An approach for reducing the surface concentration and hence the surface recombination velocity 

is to perform an additional drive in after removal of the PSG from the surface. Since the PSG is 

the source of phosphorus, removing this will enable redistributing the phosphorus in the silicon, 

reducing surface concentration and increasing the junction depth. Janssen et. al. (2) have 

demonstrated a reduction of the SRV by this means. King et.al (3) have measured the surface 

recombination velocity as a function of surface phosphorus concentration. Figure 18 combines 

the data from these two publications to show the impact of an additional drive in on surface 

concentration of phosphorus and the SRV. 

We have used a modified version of the process flow based on the 3 step diffusion, with the 

expected diffusion profile shown in Figure 18, (2) and added a final oxidation step to attempt to 

achieve a low SRV with an oxide passivated emitter. The details of the junction formation 

process are as follows:

• 1st. step - POCl3 predep at 840 C - 35 minutes

• 2nd. step - Phosphorus drive in at 840 C -12 minutes

• PSG removal and clean

Figure 18. Schematic of expected 

emitter profiles with POCl3 diffusion 

under different conditions (2). The 

surface recombination velocity for 

various phosphorus surface 

concentrations is also shown (3).
20 

• 3rd. step - Phosphorus dive in (without PSG) for 1 hr at 900 C in nitrogen

• 4th. Step - Dry oxidization at 800 C for 3.5 minutes to achieve ~10 nm thermal oxide. 

Devices fabricated with this process flow unfortunately failed as a result of several process 

problems including poor quality of the texture etch and severe device shunting problems. We 

attribute the device failure to multiple causes:

The fundamental problem is the contamination from the ceramic which not only adds metallic 

impurities to the epitaxial silicon film during ceramic consolidation but also outgases during the 

POCl3 diffusion step further contaminating the surface of the silicon wafer during diffusion. 

The surface of the silicon after ceramic consolidation appears to respond differently to texture 

etching process as compared to epitaxial wafers not attached to a ceramic handling layer. Texture 

etching results have been very poor with non uniform etching, local staining and other 

undesirable attribute. This may be a result of surface contamination that is not entirely removed 

by the traditional SC1, SC2 clean. 

Since we use a ~ 1 micron thick oxide on the silicon, between the epitaxial layer and the ceramic 

to function as a diffusion mask during emitter formation, the integrity of this layer is critical to 

prevent phosphorus diffusion in the openings in the ceramic layer at the back of the wafer. This 

layer also has to withstand the texture etching and pre diffusion wet cleaning steps. Although we 

have established that the KOH/IPA based texture etching solution etches the oxide film at a slow 

rate the possibility exists that, in local regions at the back, the oxide is removed leading to local 

phosphorus diffusion at the back of the silicon leading to shunting paths in the device. 

Task 5: Cost estimates for integrated process flow

Based on our high rate, multiple wafer epitaxial tool the cost of manufacture of thin silicon 

wafers (< 50 μm in thickness) will be substantially less than conventional silicon wafers ~ 200 

μm thick based on the traditional poly silicon production, ingot growth and wafering. Figure 19 

compares the costs of traditional wafers with that of thin epitaxial films.
21 

Figure 19. Cost comparison between conventional solar wafers ( ~ 200 μm thick, Czochralski 

wafers) and 50 μm thick epitaxial wafers. Credit: Crystal Solar.

The cost-adder due to the ceramic addition to the epitaxial silicon wafer fabrication comes 

almost entirely from the cost of the ceramic precursor powder. We have, on record, volume price 

quote from a leading US Supplier of the ceramic powder, of $25/ kg. We believe that this cost 

can be lowered to $5- $10/kg once committed agreements can be made with a wider choice of 

vendors. The ceramic thickness needed today of between 200 – 400 microns, can be fixed at the 

lower end of this range with further material and process experience. Based on a cell efficiency 

of 15% these improvements will enable cost projections for ceramic adder shown in Table 4. 

Table 4. Cost projections of ceramic materials

Cost of glass feedstock ($/kg)

Thickness 

(um)

5.00 10.00 25.00 50.00

Cost of 100 μm handling layer 

($/watt) 100 $0.01 $0.03 $0.07 $0.14 

Cost of 200 μm handling layer 

($/watt) 200 $0.03 $0.06 $0.14 $0.29 

Cost of 400 μm handling layer 

($/watt) 400 $0.06 $0.11 $0.29 $0.57 

In the above table, the green areas represent our target costs.
22 

4 Achievements and Learning from this Program

Key achievements of this program are summarized below:

• We have taken our approach to producing very thin (< 50 μm) single crystal epitaxial 

silicon wafers and successfully developed a technique for handling and processing 

these thin wafers by integrating them with strong ceramic materials

• For the first time the integration of very thin, single crystal silicon wafers with non 

silicon substrates has been demonstrated

• Ceramic compositions that result in structures that are expansion matched to silicon 

have been formulated and tested 

• Full size ( 125 mm X 125 mm) wafers have been produced with ~ 50 μm thick silicon 

wafers integrated with 200 to 400 μm thick ceramic substrates formed in the form of 

a grid to enable back side contacts to the solar cell

• A novel technique for dispensing ceramic paste precursors in a predetermined pattern 

using a simple robotic device has been developed. 

• A solar cell fabrication process flow with composite silicon- ceramic wafers has been 

developed and used to fabricate large area devices

• A cell efficiency of ~ 8% (125mm X 125 mm silicon on ceramic device) has been 

achieved. 

Challenges with the technology: 

• Although we have successfully reinforced thin epitaxial films with a ceramic backing 

material to enable handling and processing of the thin silicon, impurity contamination 

of the silicon from industrial ceramic materials limits this technology. 

• In spite of being able to tailor the CTE differences between silicon and the ceramic 

materials we have not been able to achieve the required flatness in the resulting 

wafers to achieve high yields in device processing. This may not be a fundamental 

show stopper but with the limited numbers of wafers we have fabricated and the lack 

of statistics the currently fabricated wafers do suffer from unacceptably high bow and 

warp. 

• The highest cell efficiency we have achieved with large size (~ 156 cm. sq.) solar cell 

is 8%. Devices are limited by low lifetime, the lack of surface passivation and the 

inability to provide effective back reflectors. 

Below we excerpt some key comments by the reviewers at the DOE program review in May 

2010: 

Relevance to overall DOE objectives – the degree to which the project supports the goals 

and objectives of the EERE Solar Program Multi-Year RD&D plan

Comments: Difficult to assess the cost of epi growth followed by ceramic bonding. Would be 

the ultimate technology for crystal Si cells. Combines best of wafer and thin film Si. They are 

using a technique that is being explored in other groups around the world and the United States 
23 

needs to explore this approach (Si wafer re-use) as well. This then represents a good match to 

SETP goals. The goal of the effort is a technology to reduce the material and energy required to 

produce a moderate efficiency (>15%) silicon solar cell. This is aligned with the EERE goals. 

• Aware that barrier to contamination from ceramic must be solved to get acceptable 

efficiency.

• The proposed use of printed/sintered ceramic support may not be the optimal 

solution. The ceramic has low thermal conductivity, blocks the formation of full area 

back surface optical features (BSR, diffuser, etc.) and most likely undergoes sufficient 

volumetric change upon sintering to stress the Si material. 

• Problems are well understood. Well-organized and logical approach to meeting 

goals. Good plans based on barriers and efficiency results encountered. They are 

considering other oxides and even the use of other "handles" to make a module. 

There are decision points based on results. The future development plans are 

reasonable, but continue the focus on the printed ceramic support substrate. As 

mentioned previously, it may be appropriate to consider alternate support materials. 

• These films are being degraded by the ceramic support (strain and impurity 

diffusion), thus alternate support layers may be required. 

We have essentially concluded, based on the research conducted in this program, that the 

reviewers comments are right on track and technology development for the manufacture, 

processing and packaging of very thin, high quality epitaxial films and solar cells will be based 

on using alternative support materials that do not have the drawbacks of the identified issues 

with ceramic backing materials. The alternative supporting material we are using is glass with 

the epitaxial layer being bonded to glass using EVA or other suitable encapsulants (such a 

silicones) after the front side of the device fabrication is completed. After bonding to glass the 

substrate silicon is exfoliated and the back side of the solar cell appropriately processed by 

adding a dielectric stack and contact metal for rear reflection and rear contact.

References 

1. Effects of Uniaxial Compressive Stress on Minority‐Carrier Lifetime in Silicon and 

Germanium, Sloan, B. J. Hauser, J. R., Journal of Applied Physics , Jul 1970, 41, 8, 3504 – 3508 

2. Advanced phosphorus emitters for high efficiency Si solar cells, T. Janssen, et.al. 34th. IEEE 

PVSC, June 2009. 

3. Studies of diffused phosphorus emitters: saturation current, surface recombination velocity 

and quantum efficiency, R.R. King, et.al., IEEE Trans Electron Devices, 37, 2, 19 

Acknowledgements 

We would like to acknowledge the measurement and characterization support from NREL with 

specific reference to Dr. Harin Ullal and Dr. Paul Ciszek.