High-Efficiency Corrugated Monocrystalline Silicon Solar Cells with Multi-Directional Flexing Capabilities

High efficiency, lightweight and low cost flexible solar cells have attracted a growing interest in the last decades due to their increased applications. Here, we show high-efficiency (19%) and large scale (5 × 5 inch wafer) monocrystalline silicon solar cells with multi-directional flexing capabilities. The flexing of rigid solar cells with interdigitated back contacts is achieved using a photolithography-less corrugation technique. Results show that linear patterns enable flexibility in one direction with a minimum bending radius of 5 mm while diamond patterns result in multi-directional flexibility with different minimum bending radii and robust electrical performance.