Summary:

Canadian Solar claims to have received a 23.81% efficiency of a solar cell for it’s p-type multicrystalline P5 solar wafer.

Main Article:

Canadian Solar Says to have Achieved 23.81% Efficiency of a Solar Cell

Canadian Solar has reported a 23.81% conversion efficiency for a p-type multicrystalline P5 solar cell.

The Chinese-Canadian PV solar panel manufacturer said the new record has been confirmed by Germany’s Institut für Solarenergieforschung GmbH. It follows the solar company’s previous record of 22.8%, set in September 2019.

“This is the third time within a span of nine months that the company has set a multicrystalline solar cell conversion efficiency world record,” the solar company said, without revealing how it increased the efficiency of a solar cell.

The cell, which measures in at 157mm x 157mm (246.44cm²), is based on n-type P5 silicon solar wafer and PASCon (passivated contact) technology. In September, Canadian Solar said that the improvement of the solar cell’s performance was achieved with metal-catalyzed chemical etching, the “black silicon” process, selective emitter technology, a multilayer anti-reflective coating, advanced surface passivation, and optimized grid design and metallization.

Solar cells of this kind are developed with seeded cast silicon, which is also known as cast-mono or quasi-mono crystalline silicon. Through this process, the solar panel manufacturer can produce mono-like solar wafer materials using a modified multicrystalline furnace to avoid costly investments in ingot pulling machinery.

Cast-mono solar wafers are also less susceptible to recombination by boron-oxygen defects. In addition, they offer the advantage of lower light-induced degradation.

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