Influence of silver paste rheology and screen parameters on the front side metallization of silicon solar cell

Four commercially available silver pastes for silicon solar cells front side metallization were examined and compared. Both rheological and printing experiments were used to correlate pastes properties and screens characteristics with printing results. Theoretical printability and spreading behavior...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Materials science in semiconductor processing 2014-11, Vol.27, p.790-799
Main Authors: Thibert, S., Jourdan, J., Bechevet, B., Chaussy, D., Reverdy-Bruas, N., Beneventi, D.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Applied sciences
Electronics
Energy
Exact sciences and technology
Front side metallization
Microelectronic fabrication (materials and surfaces technology)
Natural energy
Optoelectronic devices
Pastes
Photovoltaic cells
Photovoltaic conversion
Printing
Rheology
Screen-printing
Screens
Semiconductor electronics. Microelectronics. Optoelectronics. Solid state devices
Semiconductors
Silicon
Silicon solar cells
Silver
Silver paste
Solar cells
Solar cells. Photoelectrochemical cells
Solar energy
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Summary:Four commercially available silver pastes for silicon solar cells front side metallization were examined and compared. Both rheological and printing experiments were used to correlate pastes properties and screens characteristics with printing results. Theoretical printability and spreading behavior were first characterized by means of rotational and oscillatory rheological experiments. Further on, the pastes were printed, dried, and fired in a standard solar cell process on an industrial line using a full factorial design of experiments. This methodology allows to study the effect of the paste, the screen, the aperture, and their interactions on the printing results. Especially, the finger aspect ratio, the finger cross section and its relative standard deviation, which are respectively linked to solar cell efficiency, silver consumption, and process stability, were systematically measured. This work allows finding general guidelines for process optimization. Finally, a confirmation test was carried out, leading to 19% efficiency on monocrystalline silicon solar cells in an industrial environment.
ISSN:1369-8001
1873-4081
DOI:10.1016/j.mssp.2014.08.023