Heterojunction solar panels are assembled similarly to standard homojunction modules, but the singularity of this technology lies in the solar cell itself. To understand the technology, we provide you with a deep analysis of the materials, structure, manufacturing, and classification of the HJT panels.
Heterojunction (HJT) solar panel, also known as Silicon heterojunctions (SHJ) or Heterojunction with Intrinsic Thin Layer (HIT) solar panel, is a collection of HJT solar cells that leverage advanced photovoltaic technology. HJT cells combine the benefits of crystalline silicon with thin-film technologies.
Applications of heterojunction solar technology in utility-scale settings can offer efficiency from 25 to 30% efficiency. However, the pros of HJT come with cons too which are listed below: Outperform standard solar cells by converting more sunlight into electricity.
Classification of Heterojunction Solar Cells Doping differentiates these solar cells into n-type and p-type cells: N-type cells use phosphorous-doped c-Si wafers which provide additional electrons for negative charging and make them resistant to boron-oxygen-induced efficiency reduction.
Standard (homojunction) solar cells are manufactured with c-Si for the n-type and p-type layers of the absorbing layer. HJT technology, instead, combines wafer-based PV technology (standard) with thin-film technology, providing heterojunction solar cells with their best features. Structure of HJT solar cell - Source: De Wolf, S. et al.
There are two varieties of c-Si, polycrystalline and monocrystalline silicon, but monocrystalline is the only one considered for HJT solar cells since it has a higher purity and therefore more efficient. Amorphous silicon is used in thin-film PV technology and is the second most important material for manufacturing heterojunction solar cells.