Abstract

A major goal in solar cell research is to reduce the cost of the final module. Reducing the thickness of the crystalline silicon substrate to several tens of micrometers can reduce material costs. Existing methods to produce crystalline silicon substrate require high temperatures due to the mismatch in the coefficient of thermal expansion (TCE) and ion implantation of a layer deep in the substrate. In this work, we proposed the electrodeposition of a Ni-P alloy, which induces high stress in the silicon substrate at room temperature. The induced stress enables lift-off of the thin film silicon substrate. After spalling the thin Si film, the mother substrate can be reused, reducing material costs. Moreover, the low temperature process results in improved Si substrate quality.

© 2014 Optical Society of America