Inkjet and laser hybrid processing for series interconnection of thin film photovoltaics

Abstract

Inkjet deposition can be a complementary technology to laser ablation to enable new processes. One such process is the One step interconnect for thin film photovoltaics, which is an improved method for series interconnection. The standard series interconnection process consists of three laser scribes between the deposition of the three key cell layers; transparent front contact, absorber layer and the metallic back contact. The one step interconnect allows the series interconnection to occur after the deposition of all layers significantly simplifying the manufacturing process. This is achieved by inkjet printing of conductive and insulative materials concurrently with depth selective laser scribes. The one step interconnect process has been shown to make effective interconnects on cadmium telluride photovoltaics with fill factors .60%. The benefits are many and include the reduction of capital equipment costs, reduced panel wastage and potentially improved material performance. The process is fully scalable and production ready.

Modelling the evaporation of nanoparticle suspensions from heterogeneous surfaces

“…This mixture of liquid and nanoparticles is a simple model for the ink that is used in the ink jet printing manufacturing process described in [1]. The model contains Fig.…”

“…Because of this, modelling such a multi-scale system has many challenges. Mesoscopic thin-film partial differential equation based [1], which uses inkjet printing. In the initial stage (a), three layers are deposited in sequence onto a glass substrate.…”

“…An innovative recent example is the application described in [1] which uses inkjet printing as part of a new method for constructing solar panels. This includes making the electrical interconnections after the various different layers that form a solar cell have been laid down on the glass substrate and then scribed using laser ablation [1]. The benefits of using inkjet printing include reduced costs, wastage and potentially improved performance.…”

Characterization of contacts produced using a laser ablation/inkjet one step interconnect process for thin film photovoltaics

“…This causes interruption to the cell deposition process and production inefficiency. In a new "One Step Interconnect" or 'OSI' process [3] and described in detail separately [4] the entire interconnection process is performed after the completion of the cell deposition. The laser ablation process is changed in the OSI interconnect; scribes P1 and P2 are replaced with scribes A and B.…”

Editorial: Photovoltaic Science and Technology (PVSAT-10)

“…Cadmium telluride thin film solar cells has remained a strong theme with this conference and the fundamental considerations of ultra-thin cadmium telluride solar cells is discussed in a paper by A. J. Clayton et al 6 and a new module fabrication method that could both speed and simplify the process is presented in a paper by M. Crozier et al 7 where a combination of laser scribing and inkjet printing is used.…”