Non-Contact, Printable Metallic Inks for Silicon Solar Cells
- Resource Type
- Technical Report
- Authors
- Source
- Subject
- 14 SOLAR ENERGY nanoparticles, silicon solar cell, aluminum, copper, nickel, inkjet, non-contact printing, thin-silicon
nanoparticles, silicon solar cell, aluminum, copper, nickel, inkjet, non-contact printing, thin-silicon
- Language
- English
ANI succeeded in producing high quality metallization materials for non-contact print application onto silicon solar cells. This Phase II program provided an aluminum ink that can be printed using inkjet and aerosolized jet printing techniques. The ink provides high aspect ratio, high conductivity and low contact resistivity. The aluminum ink can be processed at temperatures below the eutectic point of aluminum-Silicon alloys providing superior control over metal diffusion. ANI also formulated this ink into a paste has higher conductivity and lower firing temperature compared to existing, commercially available metallization materials. The paste provides a performance increase that fits with today's predominant manufacturing methods. Additionally, ANI developed alternative metallization materials to silver that include a nickel ink that forms the contact layer to silicon. the nickel ink is compatible with the burn-through process on silicon nitride and can be plated to final thickness using a light induced plating (LIP) process. The success of this program was realized with a follow-on Phase III Xlerator program to establish pilot manufacturing.