Almost all energy on Earth comes from the sun. Plants use it for photosynthesis, producing nourishment for animals and essentially humans, who not only need the sun for food but also warmth. The sun is sustainable and inexhaustible, making it a renewable energy source. Solar Cells are photovoltaic devices, which harness the light given off by the sun and directly convert it into electricity. They are made up of P-N junctions from semiconductor materials. This material is able to absorb photons given off by the sunlight, which in turn raises an electron in the material to a higher energy state. This electron moves into a exterior circuit, in which its energy dissipates and is harnessed. The electron then returns to the solar cell and the process repeats. This thesis fundamentally establishes an understanding of a solar cell. The characterization of a solar cell through open circuit voltage, short circuit current, and fill factor are determined. These factors are how efficiency is calculated and how different designs are evaluated. Focus is set on improving front metallization designs of solar cells. Griddler 2.5 is used to simulate different design and compare their resulting numerical analysis. These designs focus on increasing efficiency and decreasing the amount of metal per unit cell. Uneven/even busbars are compared, as well as tapered fingers/uniform fingers with decreasing widths. Finally, experimental data of replacing the traditional screen-printing Silver paste with atmospheric Copper paste is discussed. The challenges of utilizing Cu due to oxidation, diffusion and degradation are overcome and the results show proof of successful contact between the Cu paste and the semiconductor material.
