Fraunhofer Ise Unveils Rotary Printing Technique for Heterojunction Solar Cell Metallization
Researchers at the German research institute have found that indirect gravure printing for metallization of silicon
PV Magazine International 1:29 pm on May 16, 2024
Advancements in indirect gravure printing technology enable high-throughput solar cell manufacturing, promising reduced costs and efficient metallization for PV modules. Indirect gravure can produce rear metal contacts with minimal loss in efficiency compared to screen printing without further optimization of contact properties or design adaptations. Researchers emphasize the potential for this technique to apply to various high-efficiency solar cells requiring low-temperature processing, while noting room for improvement in alignment and print consistency.
- High-Throughput Production: Indirect gravure printing allows cycle times of 0.5 seconds per cel with durable results.
- Efficiency Retention: Only a minor efficiency loss (0.1%) over traditional methods while enabling low-temperature processing suitable for diverse high-efficiency cells.
- Technical Challenges & Future Work: Reduction of finger resistance and contact resistivity through improved ink formulation, annealing conditions, machine alignment, and optimized gravure design are necessary for advancements.
- Collaborative Research: A team from Continental Center for Functional Printing Technologies, Schsische Walzengravur (SWG), and other contributors have published the study in Energy Technology journal.
- Future Applicability: The technology can be adapted to other high-efficiency wafer-based cell designs requiring similar metallization processes, including perovskite silicon tandem devices.
https://www.pv-magazine.com/2024/05/16/fraunhofer-ise-unveils-rotary-printing-technique-for-heterojunction-solar-cell-metallization/