Oxford and Chinese Researchers Discover Failure Mode in TOPCon Solar Modules

Researchers from the University of Oxford and Changzhou Fusion New Materials identified a new failure mode in LECO-treated TOPCon Solar Cells. The LECO process enhances efficiency by forming current-fired contacts (CFCs), lowering contact resistance. However, they discovered that reverse bias during thermal cycling causes significant series resistance degradation—over two orders of magnitude—threatening long-term reliability.