Influence of screen printing parameters on the front metallic electrodes geometry of solar cells

Circuit World ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 40 (1) ◽  
pp. 23-26 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kazimierz Drabczyk ◽  
Piotr Panek
Keyword(s):  
Solar Cells ◽  
Solar Cell ◽  
Cross Section ◽  
Screen Printing ◽  
Printing Process ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Front Electrode ◽  
Printing Parameters ◽  
Screen Printed ◽  
Metallic Electrodes

Purpose – The paper aims to present results of investigations carried out on the front electrode of the solar cell. The front-side electrode for solar cells based on crystalline material is obtained by the screen printing method. Screen printing has been the prevailing method of electrode deposition because of its low cost. One of the ways to improve the cell efficiency and reduce the production costs is a further refinement of the metal electrode screen printing process. Design/methodology/approach – The researches were focused on the modification of mechanical parameters of screen printing process to ensure the best possible cross-section of the front electrode geometry. The main printing process parameters were constant, however, the print speed was variable. The obtained fine line of front contact was characterized morphologically – the dimension and geometry of the front contact cross-section – by scanning electron microscopy technique. Findings – The thin paths of 100 μm in width were screen printed applying a new silver-paste made by Du Pont. The printing speed has significant effect on print quality in the way that the lower speed enhanced the printed results. Research limitations/implications – For newest pastes (e.g. PV17D) influence of screen printing parameters on the front metallic electrodes geometry of solar cell is not so significant. Presented screen printing process can still give good results, but the further optimization for the new paste must be performed to achieve better cross-section geometry. Originality/value – This paper confirms that one-step screen printing process can still give good results. The screen printed thin paths of 100 μm in width have good cross-section aspect ratio.

scholarly journals Screen Printed Metallization of Silicon Solar Cells

1980 ◽  
Vol 7 (1-3) ◽  
pp. 107-111 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. Frisson ◽  
Ph. Lauwers ◽  
R. Mertens ◽  
R. Van Overstraeten ◽  
R. Govaerts
Keyword(s):  
Solar Cells ◽  
Solar Cell ◽  
Contact Resistance ◽  
Process Optimization ◽  
Screen Printing ◽  
Silicon Solar Cells ◽  
Printing Process ◽  
Screen Printed

This paper presents a screen printing process for the metallization of silicon solar cells. The physics and construction of a classical solar cell are reviewed. The results obtained with a screen printing process are comparable with other, more expensive technologies. This technology does not introduce an additional contact resistance on silicon. The process optimization and the influence of different parameters are discussed.

Influence of ITO layer application on electrical parameters of silicon solar cells with screen printed front electrode

2016 ◽  
Vol 33 (3) ◽  
pp. 172-175 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kazimierz Drabczyk ◽  
Jaroslaw Domaradzki ◽  
Grazyna Kulesza-Matlak ◽  
Marek Lipinski ◽  
Danuta Kaczmarek
Keyword(s):  
Solar Cells ◽  
Solar Cell ◽  
Crystalline Silicon ◽  
Short Circuit ◽  
Short Circuit Current ◽  
Electrical Performance ◽  
Silicon Solar Cells ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Crystalline Silicon Solar Cells ◽  
Screen Printed

Purpose The purpose of this paper was investigation and comparison of electrical and optical properties of crystalline silicon solar cells with ITO or TiO2 coating. The ITO, similar to TiO2, is very well transparent in the visible part of optical radiation; however, its low resistivity (lower that 10-3 Ohm/cm) makes it possible to use simultaneously as a transparent electrode for collection of photo-generated electrical charge carriers. This might also invoke increasing the distance between screen-printed metal fingers at the front of the solar cell that would increase of the cell’s active area. Performed optical investigation showed that applied ITO thin film fulfill standard requirements according to antireflection properties when it was deposited on the surface of silicon solar cell. Design/methodology/approach Two sets of samples were prepared for comparison. In the first one, the ITO thin film was deposited directly on the crystalline silicon substrate with highly doped emitter region. In the second case, the TCO film was deposited on the same type of silicon substrate but with additional ultrathin SiO2 passivation. The fingers lines of 80 μm width were then screen-printed on the ITO layer with two different spaces between fingers for each set. The influence of application of the ITO electrode and the type of metal electrodes patterns on the electrical performance of the prepared solar cells was investigated through optical and electrical measurements. Findings The electrical parameters such as short-circuit current (Jsc), open circuit voltage (Voc), fill factor (FF) and conversion efficiency were determined on a basis of I-V characteristics. Short-circuit current density (Jsc) was equal to 32 mA/cm2 for a solar cell with a typical antireflection layer and 31.5 mA/cm2 for the cell with ITO layer, respectively. Additionally, electroluminescence of prepared cells was measured and analysed. Originality/value The influence of the properties of ITO electrode on the electrical performance of crystalline silicon solar cells was investigated through complex optical, electrical and electroluminescence measurements.

Copper deposition on screen printed electrical paths for solar cell application

Circuit World ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 41 (3) ◽  
pp. 98-101 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kazimierz Drabczyk ◽  
Robert P. Socha ◽  
Agata Skwarek
Keyword(s):  
Solar Cell ◽  
Photoelectron Spectroscopy ◽  
Base Material ◽  
Production Costs ◽  
Copper Deposition ◽  
Solar Cell Application ◽  
Content Type ◽  
X Ray ◽  
Front Electrode ◽  
Screen Printed

Purpose – The aim of this paper is to present results of investigations carried out on the front electrode of solar cells. Nowadays, most worldwide solar cell production is dominated by monocrystalline and polycrystalline silicon as a base material. In such cells, the electrical carriers are collected by the system of metallic paths fabricated on a silicon surface. One possible way to increase cell efficiency and reduce the production costs of solar modules is to replace the expensive silver by cheaper copper in front metallic electrodes. Design/methodology/approach – The paper presents results of investigations performed on the front electrode of the solar cell. The investigations were focused on the modification of typical screen printing fabrication of the thin electrical finger paths of the front solar cell electrode. The resulting contacts were characterized morphologically (the dimensions and geometry of the front contacts) by scanning electron microscopy. The composition of finger path covered with copper was analyzed using energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy techniques. Findings – In this work, the front electrodes were screen printed with the use of conventional silver-paste on a p-type Cz–Si-textured wafer with a n+ emitter and with an antireflection coating. After that, the fired front electrode was electroless coated with copper. The electroless copper deposition was performed in two stages. First, the surface of the photovoltaic cell was dipped in an aqueous solution of CuSO4 and then dried in air at room temperature. When the surface dried, the cell was immersed in hydrogen fluoride solution (5 per cent) for 1 s followed by rinsing in deionization water. Originality/value – The experiments confirmed the potential application of copper as an additional layer of the solar cell front metal electrode. On the one hand, this process is very simple and, on the other, the authors demonstrate a problem with the mechanical stability of the covered paths leading to electrode delamination.

Effects of organic medium on rheological properties of silver pastes for crystalline silicon solar cells

Circuit World ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 42 (2) ◽  
pp. 77-83 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jun Qin ◽  
Shuxin Bai ◽  
Weijun Zhang ◽  
Zhuofeng Liu ◽  
Hailiang Wang
Keyword(s):  
Solar Cells ◽  
Rheological Properties ◽  
Screen Printing ◽  
Crystalline Silicon ◽  
Organic Medium ◽  
Silicon Solar Cells ◽  
Silver Particles ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Crystalline Silicon Solar Cells ◽  
Front Electrode

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to characterize and understand the effects of polymer binder, thixotropic agent, solvent and organic medium content on the rheological properties of silver pastes for screen printing front electrode films of solar cells. Design/methodology/approach Dispersions of silver particles (surface modified with oleic acid) in ethyl cellulose (EC) polymer solutions with and without thixotropic agent were prepared, and yield stress values were measured by setting shear stress to characterize the inter-particle interaction strength of pastes. Steady-state flow, three interval thixotropy shear test and oscillatory measurements were conducted to study the effect of EC polymer and thixotropic agent on viscosity, structure rebuilding and viscoelastic properties of electrode pastes. The effect of solvent was studied by investigating the steady viscosity of cellulose acetate butyrate (CAB) polymer solutions and Ag dispersions. Findings Weak flocculation network of silver particles was produced because of depletion flocculation. Besides the interaction between thixotropic agent micelles, EC polymer also has a significant interaction with thixotropic agent. Merely increasing EC polymer or thixotropic agent content is not the best way to prevent the layer printed from laying down. The effect of solvent on the viscosity of paste is mainly attributed to the difference of hydromechanics radius and configuration of CAB polymer in solvents. With the increase of organic medium content, the properties of electrode pastes were converted from rigidity to flexibility. Originality/value It is still a challenge to obtain high-quality front electrode films for crystalline silicon solar cells by screen printing, because of the difficulty in reducing shadowing losses while ensuring a low series resistance and high filling factor. The paste rheological properties are the key properties related to the paste’s passing ability through the meshes and resistance of paste spreading on the substrate. Organic medium as an important component of the paste is acknowledged to be used to tailor the paste’s rheological properties and have a great role in screen printing.

scholarly journals Cell/Module Integration Technology with Wire-Embedded EVA Sheet

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (9) ◽  
pp. 4170
Author(s):  
Jeong Eun Park ◽  
Won Seok Choi ◽  
Donggun Lim
Keyword(s):  
Solar Cells ◽  
Solar Cell ◽  
High Power ◽  
Short Circuit ◽  
Optical Loss ◽  
Manufacturing Cost ◽  
Power Module ◽  
Manufacturing Method ◽  
Front Electrode ◽  
The Wire

Silicon wafers are crucial for determining the price of solar cell modules. To reduce the manufacturing cost of photovoltaic devices, the thicknesses of wafers are reduced. However, the conventional module manufacturing method using the tabbing process has a disadvantage in that the cell is damaged because of the high temperature and pressure of the soldering process, which is complicated, thus increasing the process cost. Consequently, when the wafer is thinned, the breakage rate increases during the module process, resulting in a lower yield; further, the module performance decreases owing to cracks and thermal stress. To solve this problem, a module manufacturing method is proposed in which cells and wires are bonded through the lamination process. This method minimizes the thermal damage and mechanical stress applied to solar cells during the tabbing process, thereby manufacturing high-power modules. When adopting this method, the front electrode should be customized because it requires busbarless solar cells different from the existing busbar solar cells. Accordingly, the front electrode was designed using various simulation programs such as Griddler 2.5 and MathCAD, and the effect of the diameter and number of wires in contact with the front finger line of the solar cell on the module characteristics was analyzed. Consequently, the efficiency of the module manufactured with 12 wires and a wire diameter of 0.36 mm exhibited the highest efficiency at 20.28%. This is because even if the optical loss increases with the diameter of the wire, the series resistance considerably decreases rather than the loss of the short-circuit current, thereby improving the fill factor. The characteristics of the wire-embedded ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) sheet module were confirmed to be better than those of the five busbar tabbing modules manufactured by the tabbing process; further, a high-power module that sufficiently compensated for the disadvantages of the tabbing module was manufactured.

scholarly journals Chitosan-based enzyme ink for screen-printed bioanodes

RSC Advances ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (33) ◽  
pp. 20550-20556
Author(s):  
Isao Shitanda ◽  
Kanako Oda ◽  
Noya Loew ◽  
Hikari Watanabe ◽  
Masayuki Itagaki ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Magnesium Oxide ◽  
Mesoporous Carbon ◽  
Screen Printing ◽  
Printing Process ◽  
One Step ◽  
Screen Printed

Bio-composite inks based on magnesium oxide (MgO)-templated mesoporous carbon (MgOC) and chitosan cross-linked with genipin for one-step screen-printing process.

Effects of polymer binder on rheological properties of silver pastes for screen printing front electrode films of solar cells

2015 ◽  
Vol 29 (10n11) ◽  
pp. 1540027 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jun Qin ◽  
Weijun Zhang ◽  
Zhuofeng Liu ◽  
Shuxin Bai
Keyword(s):  
Solar Cells ◽  
Rheological Properties ◽  
Screen Printing ◽  
Model Parameters ◽  
Silver Particles ◽  
Front Electrode ◽  
Strength Of Interaction ◽  
Fundamental Understanding ◽  
Surface Modified ◽  
Down Sweep

The purpose of the study is to characterize and improve the fundamental understanding of the effects of Ethyl Cellulose (EC) binder on the rheological properties of silver pastes for screen printing front electrode films of solar cells. Dispersions of silver particles (surface modified with oleic acid) in EC polymer solutions with and without thixotropic agent were prepared; and yield stress values were measured by setting shear stress to characterize the strength of interaction in pastes. Week flocculation network of silver particles is produced due to depletion of flocculation. EC polymer also has a significant interaction with thixotropic agent. Down-sweep flow curves of dispersions without thixotropic agent were measured and well fitted by Generalized Casson model. The model parameters p indicated that EC polymer with high molecular weight has a stronger shear-thinning ability. Steady-state flow, three interval thixotropy shear test (3ITT) and oscillatory measurements were conducted to study the effect of EC content on viscosity, structure rebuilding and viscoelastic properties of electrode pastes. Increasing EC polymer is not the best way to prevent the layer printed from laying down.

Photovoltaic effect in single-junction organic solar cell fabricated using vanadyl phthalocyanine soluble derivative

2015 ◽  
Vol 44 (1) ◽  
pp. 26-32 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. Aziz ◽  
Z. Ahmad ◽  
S.M. Abdullah ◽  
K. Sulaiman ◽  
M.H. Sayyad
Keyword(s):  
Thin Film ◽  
Solar Cells ◽  
Solar Cell ◽  
Spin Coating ◽  
Organic Solar Cell ◽  
Photovoltaic Effect ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Single Junction ◽  
Coating Technique ◽  
Phthalocyanine Derivative

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to study the optical and electrical characteristics of a single-junction solar cell based on a green-colour dye vanadyl 2,9,16, 23-tetraphenoxy-29H, 31H-phthalocyanine (VOPcPhO). The use of soluble vanadyl phthalocyanine derivative makes it very attractive for photovoltaic applications due to its tunable properties and high solubility. Design/methodology/approach – A photoactive layer of VOPcPhO has been sandwiched between indium tin oxide (ITO) and aluminium (Al) electrodes to produce a ITO/PEDOT:PSS/VOPcPhO/Al photovoltaic device. The VOPcPhO thin film is deposited by a simple spin coating technique. To obtain the optimal thickness for the solar cell device, different thicknesses of the photoactive layer, achieved by manipulating the spin rate, have been investigated. Findings – The device exhibited photovoltaic effect with the values of Jsc, Voc and FF equal to 5.26 × 10-6 A/cm2, 0.621 V and 0.33, respectively. The electronic parameters of the cell have been obtained from the analysis of current-voltage characteristics measured in dark. The values of ideality factor and barrier height were found to be 2.69 and 0.416 eV, respectively. The optical examination showed that the material is sensitive to light in the UV region between 270 nm and 410 nm, as well as in the visible spectrum within the range of 630 nm and 750 nm. Research limitations/implications – The solar cell based on a single layer of vanadyl phthalocyanine derivative results in low efficiency, which can be enhanced by introducing a variety of donor materials to form bulk heterojunction solar cells. Practical implications – The spin coating technique provides a simple, less expensive and effective approach for preparing thin films. Originality/value – A novel thin-film, single-junction organic solar cell, fabricated by using VOPcPhO, has been investigated for the first time ever. The vanadyl phthalocyanine derivative together with a donor material will have potential application for improved efficiency of the solar cells.

The impact of ribbon treatment on the interconnection of solar cells withina glass free PV module

2019 ◽  
Vol 36 (3) ◽  
pp. 95-99
Author(s):  
Piotr Sobik ◽  
Radosław Pawłowski ◽  
Anna Pluta ◽  
Olgierd Jeremiasz ◽  
Kazimierz Drabczyk ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Solar Cells ◽  
Solar Cell ◽  
Fiber Composite ◽  
Relative Displacement ◽  
Structural Function ◽  
Solar Module ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Glass Fiber Composite ◽  
Environment Chamber ◽  
The Impact

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the behavior of interconnections between solar cells in a glass-free solar modules. As glass weight can be a limitation, it is still interesting to investigate other types of systems, especially when the glass was replaced with a polymeric front sheet. Such systems can be more sensitive for the solar cell interconnection ribbon fatigue. Design/methodology/approach To examine this effect, the set of glass-based and glass-free modules were prepared using various ribbon thickness and treatment concerning its stretching or curving before lamination. Furthermore, additional reinforcement of the connection between the ribbon and the solar cell was proposed. The prepared modules were exposed to the cyclic temperature variation in the environment chamber. The number of cycles after which the interconnection maintains its conductivity was noted. Findings Changing the outer layers into more elastic ones requires additional care for the ribbon treatment because interconnections become more sensitive for a system relative displacement. To secure interconnection before fatigue an additional curving of ribbon between solar cells can be introduced whereas the best results were obtained for a system with aluminum plate laminated as an interlayer. Originality/value The paper presents a new system of a glass-free solar module based on epoxy-glass fiber composite as a backsheet. The glass front sheet was replaced with an elastic, transparent polymer. Such construction can be used in a system where the glass weight is a limitation. As glass has a structural function in traditional modules and limits fatigues of interconnections the proposed system requires additional ribbon treatment to preserve long module life-span.

scholarly journals The study of the screen printing quality depending on the surface to be printed

2018 ◽  
Vol 178 ◽  
pp. 03015
Author(s):  
Viorica Cazac ◽  
Jana Cîrja ◽  
Emilia Balan ◽  
Cristina Mohora
Keyword(s):  
Screen Printing ◽  
Printing Process ◽  
Printing Quality ◽  
Mesh Screen ◽  
Study Results ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Composition Structure ◽  
Screen Printed

This paper presents the study results regarding the analysis of the screen printing quality on different types of materials. The quality of the screen printing is determined by several particularities of the screen printing process such as: the type of mesh, screen ruling, ink viscosity, raster spacing, etc. The material which is supposed to be printed is as important as the particularities of the screen printing process itself. The composition, structure and features of the printed items as well as the composition, viscosity and other ink properties, all together determine the quality of the screen printed matter.

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