Low loss metallisation of solar cells

The effective shading of electroplated solar cell metal fingers after cell encapsulation is only about a third of what would be expected from simple geometric calculations. The reason for this is that most of the light reflected from the fingers is either directed downwards towards the silicon or is totally internally reflected at the air/glass interface. experimental data is presented to support calculations of this effect. Solar cells with electroplated metal fingers match the loss potential of other low-loss metallization schemes such as putting both metal contacts on the rear or the buried contact approach. The electroplated finger approach appears less costly than any other low-loss metallization procedure.