By Kari Williamson

The efficiency, which was confirmed by the European Solar Test Installation (ESTI), is the result of further development of the processes at the solar PV wafer, cell and module levels, SCHOTT Solar says.

The solar PV module consists of 60 cells with efficiencies of up to 18.7%.

Subsidiary SCHOTT Solar Wafer GmbH improved the electronic quality of its silicon wafers, and the cells in the solar PV module are connected by three interconnectors that allow for reduced electrical loss.

For the front of the module, SCHOTT Solar uses its in-line diffusion process whereas the back of the solar PV module features a PERC structure, which has been passivated using a combination of various dielectric layers and equipped with local contacts. These are applied using screen printing technology.