Increasing the Effective Area of Small‐Sized CIGS Modules by Printed Ag Front Contacts

Gensowski, Katharina; Freund, Timo; Tepner, Sebastian; Clement, Florian

doi:10.1002/pssr.202200040

Cited by 4 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 20 publications

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“…[5,[11][12][13][14][15] In previous studies, the potential of parallel dispensing technique has been demonstrated for hightemperature curing pastes as well as for low-temperature curing pastes. [5,16,17] During the dispensing process, a highly filled suspension is forced through nanometer-sized nozzles and filament threads or rather paste threads occur. These paste threads get in DOI: 10.1002/adem.202300010…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Paste Development for an Optimized Filament Stretching Effect during Parallel Dispensing on Transparent Conductive Oxide Layers for Solar Cell Metallization

Gensowski,

Palme,

Langhof

et al. 2023

Adv Eng Mater

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The availability of silver as an electrically conductive filler material in printing pastes for solar cell metallization is becoming a more crucial issue for multiterawatt‐scale production due to its global constraints. Therefore, the silver consumption for solar cell production needs to be reduced drastically by substituting silver with alternative conductive filler materials or utilizing process‐specific phenomena. The phenomenon of filament stretching during microextrusion allows significantly lower paste laydowns. The magnitude of filament stretching is paste‐dependent and therefore further knowledge of the pastes’ impact to the filament stretching is required. This study presents nine low‐temperature curing pastes differing in the particle system and binder resin. The rheological and thermal behavior of these suspensions are investigated and printing tests onto silicon heterojunction (SHJ) precursors are carried out. Additionally, scanning electron microscopy (SEM)‐based microstructure analyses of printed electrodes are performed. Based on these experimental results, the impact of paste compositions regarding the paste behavior during microextrusion and the SHJ solar cell performances are analyzed. The developed paste formulations exhibit a strong filament stretching, leading to a reduced silver laydown of down to ΔmAg = −60%rel. and an absolute efficiency gain of up to Δη = +0.75%abs. due to less shading losses.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Paste Development for an Optimized Filament Stretching Effect during Parallel Dispensing on Transparent Conductive Oxide Layers for Solar Cell Metallization

Gensowski,

Palme,

Langhof

et al. 2023

Adv Eng Mater

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“…[20][21][22] Here, the electrodes are also applied onto TCO layers and orientated perpendicular to the P1P2P3 interconnections. The architecture of this thin-film concept, 23,24 its unique features, 25 and its industrial manufacturing processes 26,27 are illustrated in the literature. It should be mentioned that front contacts on CIGS substrates are not as common as on silicon solar cells.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The electrodes are applied by flatbed screen printing and parallel dispensing. 23 Nevertheless, published results show the limitation of front contact metallization of CIGS modules. Nowadays, curing temperatures of T c ≈ 200 C are used to obtain the contact formation between printed electrodes and TCO layers, especially indium tin oxide (ITO) layers.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Nowadays, curing temperatures of T c ≈ 200 C are used to obtain the contact formation between printed electrodes and TCO layers, especially indium tin oxide (ITO) layers. 10,20,23 However, the CIGS technology requires even lower temperature processes than SHJ solar cells to prevent thermal damage to the CdS/CIGS interface. Ultralow-temperature curing pastes seem to be a promising candidate that enables the contact formation in a temperature range of 130 C ≥ T c ≥ 100 C. Few studies have presented the application of ultralow-temperature Ag pastes on silicon-perovskite tandem solar cells by flatbed screen printing.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…19 High-temperature curing pastes and low-temperature curing pastes have been successfully applied as front contacts on different solar cell applications by parallel dispensing. 10,18,23,36…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Curing conditions for low‐resistivity contacts on transparent conductive oxide layers for different solar cell applications

Gensowski,

Freund,

Much

et al. 2023

Progress in Photovoltaics

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The Cu (ln1‐xGax)Se2 (CIGS) solar cell technology is a potentially high‐efficient approach with unique properties compared with silicon photovoltaic, like flexible lightweight substrates and different colored designs. So far, the full potential of the transparent conductive oxide layers has not been exploited yet as no front contacts are applied, resulting in significant losses from the cell‐to‐module level. In this study, Ag front contacts are applied by parallel dispensing onto indium tin oxide layers of silicon heterojunction substrates and CIGS substrates. Subsequently, a thermally curing process is carried out to form the conductive contacts. The curing conditions are varied between 200°C ≥ Tc ≥ 100°C combined with 20 min ≥ tc ≥ 1.5 min. The study aims to determine the curing parameters enabling low‐resistivity contacts by using low‐temperature curing Ag paste and ultralow‐temperature curing Ag paste. The lateral electrode resistance and the contact resistivity of printed electrodes are measured. The results of simultaneous thermogravimetry‐differential scanning calorimetry (pastes) and microstructure analysis of printed electrodes are used to explain the electrical parameters of the printed electrodes. In general, higher curing temperatures and longer curing durations encourage the sintering and densification process of the applied electrodes resulting in low‐resistivity contacts. Contact resistivities below ρc,TLM < 5 mΩ·cm2 and lateral electrode resistance of Rlateral ≥ 17 Ω m−1 are obtained for different paste systems. However, optimal curing conditions of low‐temperature curing pastes can cause thermal damage to the CIGS device. Therefore, ultralow‐temperature curing pastes seem to be promising candidates for front contact metallization of CIGS substrates.

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Understanding of the Relationship between the Properties of Cu(In,Ga)Se₂ Solar Cells and the Structure of Ag Network Electrodes

Yoo,

Van Quy,

Lee

et al. 2024

Energy & Environ Materials

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The relation between the structure of the silver network electrodes and the properties of Cu(In,Ga)Se2 (CIGS) solar cells is systemically investigated. The Ag network electrode is deposited onto an Al:ZnO (AZO) thin film, employing a self‐forming cracked template. Precise control over the cracked template's structure is achieved through careful adjustment of temperature and humidity. The Ag network electrodes with different coverage areas and network densities are systemically applied to the CIGS solar cells. It is revealed that predominant fill factor (FF) is influenced by the figure of merit of transparent conducting electrodes, rather than sheet resistance, particularly when the coverage area falls within the range of 1.3–5%. Furthermore, a higher network density corresponds to an enhanced FF when the coverage areas of the Ag networks are similar. When utilizing a thinner AZO film, CIGS solar cells with a surface area of 1.0609 cm2 exhibit a notable performance improvement, with efficiency increasing from 10.48% to 11.63%. This enhancement is primarily attributed to the increase in FF from 45% to 65%. These findings underscore the considerable potential for reducing the thickness of the transparent conductive oxide (TCO) in CIGS modules with implications for practical applications in photovoltaic technology.

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Increasing the Effective Area of Small‐Sized CIGS Modules by Printed Ag Front Contacts

Abstract: The ORCID identification number(s) for the author(s) of this article can be found under https://doi.org/10.1002/pssr.202200040.

Cited by 4 publications

References 20 publications

Paste Development for an Optimized Filament Stretching Effect during Parallel Dispensing on Transparent Conductive Oxide Layers for Solar Cell Metallization

Paste Development for an Optimized Filament Stretching Effect during Parallel Dispensing on Transparent Conductive Oxide Layers for Solar Cell Metallization

Curing conditions for low‐resistivity contacts on transparent conductive oxide layers for different solar cell applications

Understanding of the Relationship between the Properties of Cu(In,Ga)Se₂ Solar Cells and the Structure of Ag Network Electrodes

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Increasing the Effective Area of Small‐Sized CIGS Modules by Printed Ag Front Contacts

Abstract: The ORCID identification number(s) for the author(s) of this article can be found under https://doi.org/10.1002/pssr.202200040.

Cited by 4 publications

References 20 publications

Paste Development for an Optimized Filament Stretching Effect during Parallel Dispensing on Transparent Conductive Oxide Layers for Solar Cell Metallization

Paste Development for an Optimized Filament Stretching Effect during Parallel Dispensing on Transparent Conductive Oxide Layers for Solar Cell Metallization

Curing conditions for low‐resistivity contacts on transparent conductive oxide layers for different solar cell applications

Understanding of the Relationship between the Properties of Cu(In,Ga)Se2 Solar Cells and the Structure of Ag Network Electrodes

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Understanding of the Relationship between the Properties of Cu(In,Ga)Se₂ Solar Cells and the Structure of Ag Network Electrodes