Progress with screen printed metallization of silicon solar cells - Towards 20 μm line width and 20 mg silver laydown for PERC front side contacts

Wenzel, Timo; Lorenz, Andreas; Lohmüller, Elmar; Auerbach, Simon; Masuri, Kenji; Lau, Yin Cheung; Tepner, Sebastian; Clement, Florian

doi:10.1016/j.solmat.2022.111804

Cited by 29 publications

(28 citation statements)

References 18 publications

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“…Nine measurements are performed for each parameter combination. The microscope images are analyzed by the Fraunhofer ISE software, the so-called ‘Dash’ 41 . In this case, the electrode widths w shading and w core , the maximal electrode height h f,max as well as the cross-sectional area A cross are determined.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Filament stretching during micro-extrusion of silver pastes enables an improved fine-line silicon solar cell metallization

Gensowski

Much

Bujnoch

et al. 2022

Sci Rep

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The metallization of heterojunction solar cells requires a further reduction of silver consumption to lower production costs and save resources. This article presents how filament stretching of polymer-based low-temperature curing Ag pastes during micro-extrusion enables this reduction while at the same time offering a high production throughput potential. In a series of experiments the relationship between the printing velocity and the filament stretching, thus the reduction of Ag-electrode widths and Ag laydown is evaluated. Furthermore, an existing filament stretching model for the parallel dispensing process is advanced further and utilized to calculate the elongational viscosity. The stretching effect enables a reduction of the Ag-electrode width by down to Δwf = − 40%rel. depending on the nozzle diameter and paste type. The Ag laydown has been reduced from mAg,cal. = 0.84 mg per printed line to only mAg,cal. = 0.54 mg per printed Ag-electrode when 30 µm nozzle openings are used, demonstrating the promising potential of parallel dispensing technology for the metallization of silicon heterojunction solar cells.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Filament stretching during micro-extrusion of silver pastes enables an improved fine-line silicon solar cell metallization

Gensowski

Much

Bujnoch

et al. 2022

Sci Rep

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“…All images are statistically analyzed using the Fraunhofer ISE image analysis software Dash. [ 59 ] This software allows a statistical determination of all relevant geometry parameters including average values for the finger width w f , finger height h f , and finger cross‐sectional area A f . Subsequently, SEM images of selected polished cells are carried out to assess the finger geometry in detail.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Rotary Screen Printed Metallization of Heterojunction Solar Cells: Toward High‐Throughput Production with Very Low Silver Laydown

et al. 2022

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Within this work, first bifacial silicon heterojunction solar cells with rotary screen printed front‐ and rear‐side metallization are demonstrated. The high‐throughput metallization process is carried out using an innovative rotary printing demonstrator machine with short process cycle times down to 0.65 s cell−1. Furthermore, a very low total silver consumption of only 6–9 mg Wp −1 for the fully metallized bifacial silicon heterojunction solar cells is demonstrated. Using a newly developed screen simulation approach, the utilized fine line rotary and flatbed screens are analyzed regarding their suitability for fine line metallization and verified using in‐depth analysis of the geometrical and electrical properties of printed and cured metallization. The best group of fully rotary screen printed cells obtains a mean conversion efficiency of η RSP,avg = 21.7% which is close to the flatbed screen printed reference group with η FSP,avg = 22.1%. Using a hybrid approach with a rotary screen printed grid on the rear side and flatbed screen printed grid on the front side, a mean conversion efficiency of η hyb,avg = 22.0% is obtained with a very low total silver consumption of only 9 mg Wp.

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“…The evolution of the linewidth (finger width, W f ) over the last 15 years obtained with screen printing in the PV industry is shown in Fig. 2a [37]. As can be seen, the speed of the line width improvement has been spectacular.…”

Section: Screen Printing Technologymentioning

confidence: 97%

“…2b [38]. However, a further reduction in the screenprinting linewidth to approximately or less than 20 μm poses new challenges with respect to the screen, paste, and printing processes and quality assurance [37]. The most common case for screenprinting ultra narrow fingers leads to disruptions in the finger geometry (Fig.…”

Section: Screen Printing Technologymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The most common case for screenprinting ultra narrow fingers leads to disruptions in the finger geometry (Fig. 2c, d) [37], finger interruptions, and alignment deviations. In the development of screen technology, the knotless screen technology has recently attracted attention due to its ability to effectively reduce mesh marks and increase the paste transfer capability, resulting in a lower mean lateral finger resistance than conventional fine-line mesh screens (Fig.…”

Section: Screen Printing Technologymentioning

confidence: 99%

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Review on Metallization Approaches for High-Efficiency Silicon Heterojunction Solar Cells

Zeng

Peng

Wang

et al. 2022

Trans. Tianjin Univ.

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Crystalline silicon (c-Si) heterojunction (HJT) solar cells are one of the promising technologies for next-generation industrial high-efficiency silicon solar cells, and many efforts in transferring this technology to high-volume manufacturing in the photovoltaic (PV) industry are currently ongoing. Metallization is of vital importance to the PV performance and long-term reliability of HJT solar cells. In this review, we summarize the development status of metallization approaches for high-efficiency HJT solar cells. For conventional screen printing technology, to avoid the degradation of the passivation properties of the amorphous silicon layer, a low-temperature-cured (< 250 ℃) paste and process are needed. This process, in turn, leads to high line/contact resistances and high paste costs. To improve the conductivity of electrodes and reduce the metallization cost, multi-busbar, fine-line printing, and low-temperature-cured silver-coated copper pastes have been developed. In addition, several potential metallization technologies for HJT solar cells, such as the Smart Wire Contacting Technology, pattern transfer printing, inkjet/FlexTrailprinting, and copper electroplating, are discussed in detail. Based on the summary, the potential and challenges of these metallization technologies for HJT solar cells are analyzed.

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Progress with screen printed metallization of silicon solar cells - Towards 20 μm line width and 20 mg silver laydown for PERC front side contacts

Cited by 29 publications

References 18 publications

Filament stretching during micro-extrusion of silver pastes enables an improved fine-line silicon solar cell metallization

Filament stretching during micro-extrusion of silver pastes enables an improved fine-line silicon solar cell metallization

Rotary Screen Printed Metallization of Heterojunction Solar Cells: Toward High‐Throughput Production with Very Low Silver Laydown

Review on Metallization Approaches for High-Efficiency Silicon Heterojunction Solar Cells

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