Dual-Function Electron-Conductive, Hole-Blocking Titanium Nitride Contacts for Efficient Silicon Solar Cells

High-performance passivating contact is a prerequisite for high-efficiency crystalline silicon (c-Si) solar cells. In this work, an electron-conductive, hole-blocking contact based on titanium nitride (TiN) deposited by reactive magnetron sputtering is presented. Quasi-metallic TiN combined with an ultrathin SiO₂ passivation layer (SiO₂/TiN) is demonstrated to be an effective electron-selective contact on c-Si, featuring a low-contact resistivity of 16.4 mΩ.cm² and a tolerable recombination current parameter of ∼500 fA/cm². By implementing the dual-function SiO₂/TiN contact, which acts simultaneously as a surface passivating layer and metal electrode, an efficiency of 20% is achieved by an n-type c-Si solar cell with a simple structure. This work not only demonstrates a way to develop efficient n-type c-Si solar cells with dual-function metal nitride contacts at a low cost but also expands the pool of available carrier transport materials, from metal oxides to metal nitrides, for photovoltaic devices. N-type silicon wafers exhibit superior electrical properties compared to their p-type counterparts, such as higher minority carrier lifetime and absence of light-induced degradation, resulting in a higher efficiency potential and increased reliability of photovoltaic devices. However, most of the commonly used metals (e.g., Al and Ag) cannot form an ohmic contact on the lightly doped n-type silicon wafers, retarding the development of an n-type analog to the Al-back-surface-field p-type solar cell. Herein, we present a dual-function, electron-conductive contact based on titanium nitride (TiN) for n-type silicon solar cells. By implementing the SiO₂/TiN contact, which acts simultaneously as a surface passivating layer and metal electrode, an efficiency of 20% was achieved by an n-type silicon solar cell with a simplified fabrication flow. This work demonstrates the path forward to develop efficient n-type silicon solar cells with dual-function metal nitride contacts at a low cost. Yang and co-workers reported a dual-function, low-cost, high-performance titanium-nitride-based passivating contact for silicon solar cells. By the implementation of electron-conductive titanium nitride contact, which acts simultaneously as a surface passivating layer and metal electrode, a silicon solar cell with an efficiency of 20% is achieved using a simplified fabrication process. This work also expands the pool of available electron transport materials, from metal oxides to metal nitrides, for photovoltaic devices.