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A screen printed silver/metallic glass (MG) paste formulated with Ag acetate resulted in a specific contact resistance in the range of 0.6–0.7 mΩ·cm2 on both the n- and p-type Si emitters of interdigitated back-contact solar cells. Silver nanocrystallites resulting from thermally decomposed Ag acetate prevented the Al MG frits from directly interacting with the Si emitter, thus reducing the amount of Al diffused into the Si emitters, and subsequently, the contact resistance. A photovoltaic conversion efficiency of 20.3% was achieved using this technique.

Metallic glass (MG) assists electrical contact of screen-printed silver electrodes and leads to comparable electrode performance to that of electroplated electrodes. For high electrode performance, MG needs to be infiltrated into nanometer-scale cavities between Ag particles and reacts with them. Here, we show that the MG in the supercooled state can fill the gap between Ag particles within a remarkably short time due to capillary effect. The flow behavior of the MG is revealed by computational fluid dynamics and density funtional theory simulation. Also, we suggest the formation mechanism of the Ag electrodes, and demonstrate the criteria of MG for higher electrode performance. Consequently, when Al85Ni5Y8Co2 MG is added in the Ag electrodes, cell efficiency is enhanced up to 20.30% which is the highest efficiency reported so far for screen-printed interdigitated back contact solar cells. These results show the possibility for the replacement of electroplating process to screen-printing process.

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Organic light-emitting diodes (OLED) and polymer light-emitting diodes (PLED) are promising candidates for future display applications due to their superior properties, but their efficiency and stability need to be improved to expand their application to large-size display panels and lightings. One of the most remarkable ways to enhance the efficiency of PLEDs is to incorporate metal nanoparticles and utilize their localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR). We report on the improvement of blue PLEDs efficiency by the insertion of silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) capped by poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) : poly(styrene sulfonate) (PEDOT : PSS). Ag NPs were synthesized with PEDOT : PSS as a stabilizer and then deposited on an indium tin oxide (ITO) anode using a simple spin-coating process without any aggregation. The result of deposition was confirmed by SEM and TEM images, and by Raman spectrum. Optical properties of the PEDOT : PSS-capped Ag NPs on ITO and the interaction between Ag NPs and Lumation blueJ, a blue light-emitting polymer, were measured using a UV-Vis spectrophotometer, a photoluminescence (PL) spectrophotometer, and a time-resolved photoluminescence spectrophotometer (TRPL). As a result, the introduction of PEDOT : PSScapped Ag NPs to the blue PLEDs was found to have been successfully conducted. The fabricated blue PLEDs with Ag NPs exhibited a 15% increase of external quantum efficiency. This was thought to originate from the localized surface plasmon coupling of the PEDOT : PSS-capped Ag NPs with Lumation BlueJ.