Abstract: Solar cell wafers are fabricated, tested, and sorted into solar cell wafer stacks. A solar cell wafer stack includes a solar cell wafer with a front side that faces a front side of an adjacent solar cell wafer, and another solar cell wafer with a backside that directly contacts a backside of the solar cell wafer. A front side protector may be placed between front sides of adjacent solar cell wafers. The solar cell wafer stack includes end pieces on both ends, and is wrapped to hold and bundle the solar cell wafers, front side protectors, and end pieces together as a single unit. The solar cell wafer stack is boxed along with other solar cell wafer stacks, and then transported to another location where the solar cell wafers are assembled into solar cell modules.

Abstract: Enhanced adhesion of seed layers for solar cell conductive contacts and methods of forming solar cell conductive contacts are described. For example, a method of fabricating a solar cell includes forming an adhesion layer above an emitter region of a substrate. A metal seed paste layer is formed on the adhesion layer. The metal seed paste layer and the adhesion layer are annealed to form a conductive layer in contact with the emitter region of the substrate. A conductive contact for the solar cell is formed from the conductive layer.

Abstract: A method of high reverse current burn-in of solar cells and a solar cell with a burned-in bypass diode are described herein. In one embodiment, high reverse current burn-in of a solar cell with a tunnel oxide layer induces low breakdown voltage in the solar cell. Soaking a solar cell at high current can also reduce the difference in voltage of defective and non-defective areas of the cell.