ORCID

0009-0009-5956-5077

Keywords

Silicon solar cells, titanium oxide, atomic layer deposition, copper metallization, contact degradation

Abstract

Silicon photovoltaic (PV) technology has witnessed significant evolution in recent years, driven by the pursuit of higher power conversion efficiency and reduced manufacturing costs. This dissertation explores critical material and process innovations to enable next-generation silicon solar cells with enhanced efficiency, reliability, and manufacturability. First, this work investigates hydrogen plasma-incorporated atomic layer deposition (ALD) of titanium oxide (TiOx) as a hole-selective, passivating contact for crystalline silicon (c-Si) solar cells. The incorporation of H2 plasma during ALD cycles results in enhanced passivation quality and carrier selectivity, offering a promising pathway toward dopant-free contact formation. Next, a CO2 laser-based photonic curing process is developed for copper (Cu) metallization on indium tin oxide (ITO)-coated c-Si wafers. This method provides a rapid, maskless, and cost-effective metallization strategy that achieves low bulk and contact resistivity, contributing to scalable Cu-based contact formation compatible with high-efficiency silicon heterojunction (SHJ) architectures. To assess long-term reliability, a data-driven framework for analyzing contact degradation is presented. Using acetic acid exposure and damp-heat stress testing, degradation pathways in various silicon cell architectures (including Al-BSF, PERC, PERT, and SHJ) are studied. Network structural equation modeling (netSEM) and Pourbaix diagram simulations are employed to link contact degradation with electrical and materials characterization results. Finally, this dissertation outlines a vision for next-generation silicon PV by integrating the hole-selective TiOx and Cu metallization into SHJ solar cells, serving as a device-level proof of concept. Collectively, the work presented here advances material design, processing techniques, and degradation analysis to support the development of durable, high-efficiency, and cost-effective silicon solar cells.

Completion Date

2025

Semester

Fall

Committee Chair

Kristopher O. Davis

Degree

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)

College

College of Engineering and Computer Science

Department

Materials Science and Engineering

Format

PDF

Release Date

12-15-2026

Document Type

Dissertation

Campus Location

Orlando (Main) Campus

Subjects

Photovoltaic cells--Technological innovations; Silicon solar cells--Performance; Photovoltaic cells--Research; Solar cells--Technological innovations; Photovoltaic power generation--Cost effectiveness

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Available for download on Tuesday, December 15, 2026

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