The formation mechanism for printed silver-contacts for silicon solar cells
10.1038/ncomms11143
Crossref journal-article
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Nature Communications (297)
Abstract

AbstractScreen-printing provides an economically attractive means for making Ag electrical contacts to Si solar cells, but the use of Ag substantiates a significant manufacturing cost, and the glass frit used in the paste to enable contact formation contains Pb. To achieve optimal electrical performance and to develop pastes with alternative, abundant and non-toxic materials, a better understanding the contact formation process during firing is required. Here, we use in situ X-ray diffraction during firing to reveal the reaction sequence. The findings suggest that between 500 and 650 °C PbO in the frit etches the SiNx antireflective-coating on the solar cell, exposing the Si surface. Then, above 650 °C, Ag+ dissolves into the molten glass frit – key for enabling deposition of metallic Ag on the emitter surface and precipitation of Ag nanocrystals within the glass. Ultimately, this work clarifies contact formation mechanisms and suggests approaches for development of inexpensive, nontoxic solar cell contacting pastes.

Bibliography

Fields, J. D., Ahmad, Md. I., Pool, V. L., Yu, J., Van Campen, D. G., Parilla, P. A., Toney, M. F., & van Hest, M. F. A. M. (2016). The formation mechanism for printed silver-contacts for silicon solar cells. Nature Communications, 7(1).

Authors 8
  1. Jeremy D. Fields (first)
  2. Md. Imteyaz Ahmad (additional)
  3. Vanessa L. Pool (additional)
  4. Jiafan Yu (additional)
  5. Douglas G. Van Campen (additional)
  6. Philip A. Parilla (additional)
  7. Michael F. Toney (additional)
  8. Maikel F. A. M. van Hest (additional)
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Dates
Type When
Created 9 years, 4 months ago (April 1, 2016, 5:50 a.m.)
Deposited 2 years, 7 months ago (Jan. 4, 2023, 6:29 a.m.)
Indexed 2 weeks, 6 days ago (Aug. 2, 2025, 1:07 a.m.)
Issued 9 years, 4 months ago (April 1, 2016)
Published 9 years, 4 months ago (April 1, 2016)
Published Online 9 years, 4 months ago (April 1, 2016)
Funders 0

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@article{Fields_2016, title={The formation mechanism for printed silver-contacts for silicon solar cells}, volume={7}, ISSN={2041-1723}, url={http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/ncomms11143}, DOI={10.1038/ncomms11143}, number={1}, journal={Nature Communications}, publisher={Springer Science and Business Media LLC}, author={Fields, Jeremy D. and Ahmad, Md. Imteyaz and Pool, Vanessa L. and Yu, Jiafan and Van Campen, Douglas G. and Parilla, Philip A. and Toney, Michael F. and van Hest, Maikel F. A. M.}, year={2016}, month=apr }