Media Focus| Dual-Dimensional Breakthrough Innovation Achieved in Texturing Process for Heterojunction Solar Cells
Innovation drives development, and technology leads future. Recently, Jinneng Clean Energy Technology Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Jinergy") has made dual breakthroughs in hydrofluoric acid process formula and two-step texturing technology. Through precise control of chemical ratios and reaction kinetics, the company has simultaneously optimized surface passivation effect and textured light-trapping structure, successfully promoting the systematic improvement in overall cell performance and further enhancing the technical competitiveness in the high-efficiency cell sector.
Since its establishment in 2015, as a core base for R&D and industrialization of hererojunction (HJT) technology, Jinergy has been mainly responsible for key tasks, such as tackling critical HJT technologies, developing domestic equipment and optimizing mass production process. The company took the lead in building the world’s first 100MW-class large-size multi-busbar HJT solar cell production line, making it one of the first enterprises in China to realize large-scale mass production of HJT technology. Since then, it has continued to tackle key problems, achieved major breakthrough in core processes, and undertaken a number of national, provincial and municipal research projects.
Meanwhile, the company leads the construction of the National Energy Key Laboratory for Heterojunction Photovoltaic Technology, and jointly builds R&D platforms with advanced research institutes and universities, focusing on key HJT cell manufacturing processes, mass production technologies and perovskite tandem cell R&D. Today, Jinergy has evolved from technological exploration to large-scale mass production and continuous innovation, becoming an important engine for the transformation and upgrading of Shanxi’s photovoltaic industry. Texturing is a core fundamental process in HJT cell manufacturing, and its quality directly determines subsequent thin-film deposition performance and the final electrical properties of the cell. Based on mechanism research, Jinergy's R&D team implemented precise control over hydrofluoric acid ratio, concentration and key process parameters, increasing hydrofluoric acid concentration by 1.5% and shortening reaction time by 1 minute. This not only removes contaminants from silicon wafer surface more thoroughly, providing a cleaner ideal interface for subsequent thin-film deposition, but also significantly enhances the "hydrogen passivation" effect, fully passivating dangling bond defects on the silicon wafer surface and greatly reducing carrier surface recombination rate.
At the same time, the team optimized the two-step texturing process. Within a single production cycle, silicon wafer pass through two tanks with precisely controlled formulas and reaction time in sequence, enabling fine control over the entire process of pyramid structure from "nucleation" to "growth". Measured data shows that this process optimization has increased the minority carrier lifetime of silicon wafers by 10% and raised the absolute average conversion efficiency of cells by 0.03%. The improved two-step method completes texturing with a single pass through dual tanks, reducing 12 process steps and 30 minutes of production time compared with traditional two-cycle texturing. This improves capacity utilization while effectively cutting chemical consumption and operating costs.
"This collaborative innovation promoted from dual dimensions of both 'chemical passivation' and 'physical morphology' has simultaneously optimized conversion efficiency, short-circuit current and fill factory by systematically reducing electrical recombination loss and optical reflection loss, providing crucial support for cost reduction in mass production and performance upgrading of HJT cells," said Huang Jin, Senior R&D Manager of Jinergy Factory. The company will continue to build a full-industry-chain R&D matrix, accelerate the transformation of scientific and technological innovations into practical applications, drive the development of upstream and downstream industrial clusters, help rapidly achieve the goal of extending, supplementing and strengthening Shanxi’s photovoltaic industry chain and promote energy transformation and upgrading as well as high-quality industrial development.
