NOVELTY - The solar cell comprises a thin crystalline silicon wafer having a positive region coupled to an negative region, a spin-on dielectric layer coupled to a rear surface of the silicon wafer to protect the silicon wafer from contaminants during a diffusion process and to provide a rear surface passivation, and a thermally grown dielectric layer coupled to a front surface of the silicon wafer to provide front surface passivation. The thin crystalline silicon wafer has a thickness of less than 300 micrometers. The spin-on dielectric layer has a thickness of 1500-2500 angstroms.    USE - Used as a thin silicon solar cell.    ADVANTAGE - The solar cell prevents the auto-diffusion of negative-type dopant into the back surface using a high quality spin-on dielectric layer thus reducing the shunting mechanism of the solar cell, avoids inversion problems of the charge carriers at the back surface, achieves enhanced passivation by converting the spin-on dielectric layer from a low to high quality dielectric layer through the high temperature heat treatment thus eliminating the recombination centers resulting from dangling bonds on the surfaces and improving the performance of the solar cell, and can be efficiently, simply and economically manufactured by simultaneous emitter diffusion and the front and rear surface passivation through a single high temperature furnace operation.    DETAILED DESCRIPTION - The solar cell comprises a thin crystalline silicon wafer having a positive region coupled to an negative region, a spin-on dielectric layer coupled to a rear surface of the silicon wafer to protect the silicon wafer from contaminants during a diffusion process and to provide rear surface passivation, and a thermally grown dielectric layer coupled to a front surface of the silicon wafer to provide front surface passivation. The thin crystalline silicon wafer has a thickness of less than 300 micrometers. The spin-on dielectric layer has a thickness of 1500-2500 angstroms, and strengthened bonds through a curing process performed during the diffusion process. The thermally grown dielectric layer has a thickness from 100-200 angstroms. The solar cell further comprises: a first barrier layer coupled to the spin-on dielectric layer to protect the spin-on dielectric layer, where the first barrier layer and the spin-on dielectric layer define an opening to the silicon wafer; a back contact coupled to the silicon wafer, the spin-on dielectric layer and the first barrier layer to conduct electric charge; a second barrier layer coupled to the thermally grown dielectric layer to protect the dielectric layer, where the second barrier layer and the thermally grown dielectric layer define an opening to the silicon wafer; and a front contact coupled to the silicon wafer through the thermally grown dielectric layer and the second barrier layer to conduct electric charge. The spin-on dielectric layer in combination with the first barrier layer has a recombination velocity of 20-25 centimeter per second.    DESCRIPTION OF DRAWING(S) - The diagram shows a cross-sectional view of a silicon wafer of a solar cell.    Substrate (400)    Passivation layers (405, 415)    Diffused layer (410)    Barrier layers (420, 430)    Contact. (445)