Photovoltaic screen printing positive electrode stencil

What is fine line screen printing for solar cell metallization?

Fine line screen printing for solar cell metallization is one of the most critical steps in the entire production chain of solar cells, facing the challenge of providing a conductive grid with a minimum amount of resource consumption at an ever increasing demand for higher production speeds.

Can flatbed screen printing be used for metallization of solar cells?

Sebastian Tepner and Andreas Lorenz contributed equally to this work. This paper presents a comprehensive overview on printing technologies for metallization of solar cells. Throughout the last 30 years, flatbed screen printing has established itself as the predominant metallization process for the mass production of silicon solar cells.

How is photovoltaic silver paste applied to silicon solar cells?

Photovoltaic silver paste is applied to the surface of silicon solar cells through screen-printing, after which the paste is dried and sintered to form a grid electrode. Fig.1. Architecture of TOPCon solar cell on n-type monocrystalline silicon wafer.

How much silver is used in screen printed silicon solar cells?

For example, the amount of silver used in screen printed silicon solar cells has been reduced from 300 to 100 mg [8, 28]. The share of plating technology is anticipated to increase to about 5%. The market share of stencil printing is expected to grow by 7% in the next decade.

Can a stencil printing process improve a conventional screen printing technique?

In this study conducted by ISFH, a stencil printing process was implemented to evaluate possible improvements versus the conventional screen printing approach. Analysis revealed that the screen printing technique tends to produce solar cell fingers that have a wave-like shape along the finger direction.

Why do solar cells shunt during screen printing?

(v) Solar cell is subjected to a notable pressure during screen printing. Weak wafers or thin wafers can create cracks which may result in shunt if metal paste is covering the crack. (vi) Screen slowly becomes deformed and worn out with usage.