Determination of the specific shunt resistances under and away from the front contacts of solar cell

New structure of front contacts was devised and fabricated for accurately measuring the resistances under and away from the front contacts of silicon solar cell with the results showing that the former was much worse. The sample preparing sequence was completely compatible with the conventional solar cell manufacturing process, which demonstrated the convenience of this approach. With the aid of this characterization technique, detailed information can be obtained on the solar cell structure, material ingredients and process parameters, especially the sintering process.