The 17.6% efficiency was achieved on the surface of the aperture and confirmed independently by ESTI (European Solar Test Installation).

Another solar cells produced in an industrial environment achieve peak efficiency of above 18%, SCHOTT Solar says.

The backside of the solar cell has been passivated by using a combination of different dielectric layers that feature local contacts – known as the PERC structure.

Technical data on the record module made of multicrystalline silicon solar cells:

• Efficiency: 17.6% (pertains to the aperture area)
• Open circuit voltage: 38.3 V
• Density of short circuit current: 8.94 A
• Module output: 258.0 W
• Module surface: 1.4701 m² (Aperture area)

Technical data on the high-performance cell made of multicrystalline silicon:

• Efficiency: 18.2%
• Open circuit voltage: 642 mV
• Density of short circuit current: 36.2 mA/cm²
• Cell output: 4.43 W
• Cell surface: 243.34 cm²