In this work an approach to create laser-fired contacts from aluminum foils is studied on p-type silicon heterojunction solar cells. This alternative approach consists in the use of aluminum foils instead of evaporated layers as a metal source and rear electrode for the laser-firing process. A q-switched infrared laser (1064 nm) was employed to create the local point contacts. Quasi-Steady-State Photoconductance measurements evidenced a limited degradation in the surface passivation quality

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... ng the laser-firing process. Heterojunction solar cells fabricated with these rear contacts reached a best conversion efficiency of 18% with a remarkable opencircuit voltage of 690 mV. These values were very close to those of reference devices fabricated with evaporated aluminum layers. This result suggests a similar effect on the rear surface passivation by both contact strategies. However, external quantum efficiency curves revealed a better response of devices with a rear aluminum foil in the near infrared. Optical measurements indicate that this effect can be related to a higher internal reflection at the back surface. Consequently, laser-fired contacts from aluminum foils appear as a fast and convenient solution for the rear contact of high-efficiency silicon solar cells.