Enhancing solar cell efficiency through contact replacement with advanced material

This paper studies the impact of electrical contact placement and absorber materials on solar cell efficiency. Conventional front-contact designs cause shading losses, reducing light absorption. Using COMSOL Multiphysics, front-contact and back-contact solar cells were modelled with crystalline silicon and perovskite absorbers. Back-contact designs relocate all contacts to the rear, eliminating shading and improving absorption. Simulations under standard test conditions evaluated short-circuit current density, open-circuit voltage, output power density, and efficiency. Back-contact perovskite cells achieved the highest efficiency (20%), followed by back-contact crystalline silicon (13%) and front-contact crystalline silicon (10%). Results show that combining advanced materials with optimized contact layouts significantly enhances performance, providing valuable guidance for the design of efficient, scalable photovoltaic technologies.