Multi-wire Interconnection of Busbar-free Solar Cells

Walter, Johann; Tranitz, M.; Volk, M.; Ebert, Christian; Eitner, Ulrich

doi:10.1016/j.egypro.2014.08.109

Cited by 61 publications

(25 citation statements)

References 5 publications

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“…Another way to achieve a more reliable Cu plating process is to remove the complication of having busbars on the cells by using a wire‐based cell interconnection method . As mentioned earlier in this section, the presence of busbars as well as fingers in the grid pattern can result in a non‐uniform plating rate across the cell that can be difficult to control .…”

Section: Challenges For Copper‐plated Silicon Solar Cellsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Challenges facing copper‐plated metallisation for silicon photovoltaics: Insights from integrated circuit technology development

Lennon

Colwell

Rodbell

2018

Progress in Photovoltaics

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Copper‐plated interconnects were widely adopted for volume manufacture of integrated circuits after more than a decade of intensive research to demonstrate that use of Cu would not impact device reliability. However, although Cu‐plated metallisation promises significantly reduced costs for Si photovoltaics, its adoption in manufacturing has not gained the same traction. This review identifies some key challenges facing the introduction of Cu‐plated metallisation for Si photovoltaics. These include the following: (1) increased carrier recombination due to the use of Cu for metal contact formation; (2) reduced module reliability due to adhesion or contact integrity failures; and (3) limited availability of cost‐effective processes and equipment for metal plating. For integrated circuits, Cu's low electrical resistance and high resistance to electromigration provided an impetus for the large investment in process development that was required to realise Cu‐plated interconnects. However, the technical advantages of using Cu for Si solar cell contacts are not as compelling, as solar cells can tolerate larger feature sizes thus reducing the criticality of the contact metal's conductivity and electromigration properties. Additionally, for Si photovoltaics, low cost is paramount, and new challenges arise from the need for modules to absorb light and operate in the field for 25+ years in diverse outdoor climates. However, with the scale of Si photovoltaic manufacturing expected to increase dramatically in the next decade, the use of large quantities of silver for cell metallisation will provide an incentive to address reliability concerns regarding the use of Cu for Si photovoltaic metallisation.

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Section: Challenges For Copper‐plated Silicon Solar Cellsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Challenges facing copper‐plated metallisation for silicon photovoltaics: Insights from integrated circuit technology development

Lennon

Colwell

Rodbell

2018

Progress in Photovoltaics

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“…(12). Suppose the wire electrical resistivity was ρ, the power loss caused by the shading and the resistance of the conductive belt is P c , according to (3) and (8); the P c of a module whose cell area is equal to a full cell can be obtained by…”

Section: Relationship Between Series Resistance and Power Outputmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Soldering copper wires onto the silver pads of the cells with Sn alloy can achieve an MBB structure. Increasing the pad area [8] or plating silver onto the pads [9] can increase the peel force of the wires, and the robustness of the wires has proven its reliability [10]. However, the front pads of the cells shade the incident light, and the heated soldering process may increase the breakage rate of the cells.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Optimization Design of a Multibusbar Structure: The Using of a Conductive Belt

Han

2018

International Journal of Photoenergy

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An interconnect electrode called conductive belt was applied to modules instead of interconnection ribbons. The conductive belt has multiple wires and can achieve a multibusbar structure by forming ohmic contacts with the cell electrodes. The following problems were studied with innovative approaches to optimize the multibusbar modules: the shading rate and the contact resistance of the conductive belts, the relationship between the finger series resistance and the wire number, and the influence of the series resistance variation on the maximum power output. Furthermore, the wire number and diameter were optimized according to the following conditions: the cell sizes were full, half, and one-third, and the finger wet weights of a full cell were 80 mg, 40 mg, and 20 mg. The result showed that multibusbar and half-cell structures could achieve the maximum power output, the wire number was 16 and the wire diameter was 200 μm, and the finger wet weight was reduced to 20 mg. Finally, the reliability of the modules made with conductive belts was tested and was qualified according to International Electrotechnical Commission standards.

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“…Another approach to reduce costs and enable higher efficiency cell architectures is to eliminate metallized busbars and utilize a multi-wire cell interconnection [58,59]. This technique, used mainly for silicon-heterojunction devices, reduces costs by lowering silver consumption and improves performance by reducing series resistance and increasing the active area of the cell.…”

Section: Emerging Technologiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Manufacturing metrology for c-Si module reliability and durability Part III: Module manufacturing

Davis

Rodgers

Scardera

et al. 2016

Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews

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This article is the third and final article in a series dedicated to reviewing each process step in crystalline silicon (c-Si) photovoltaic (PV) module manufacturing process: feedstock, crystallization and wafering, cell fabrication, and module manufacturing. The goal of these papers is to identify relevant metrology techniques that can be utilized to improve the quality and durability of the final product. The focus of this article is on the module manufacturing process. The c-Si PV module fabrication process can be divided into three primary areas; (1) stringing and tabbing, (2) lamination, and (3) integration of junction box and bypass diode(s). Each of these processing steps can impact the reliability and durability of PV modules in the field. The ultimate goal of this article is to identify appropriate metrology techniques and characterization methods that can be utilized within a module manufacturing facility to improve the reliability and durability of the final product. Additionally, a gap analysis is carried out to identify areas in need of further research and a discussion is provided that addresses new challenges for advanced materials and emerging technologies.

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Multi-wire Interconnection of Busbar-free Solar Cells

Cited by 61 publications

References 5 publications

Challenges facing copper‐plated metallisation for silicon photovoltaics: Insights from integrated circuit technology development

Challenges facing copper‐plated metallisation for silicon photovoltaics: Insights from integrated circuit technology development

Optimization Design of a Multibusbar Structure: The Using of a Conductive Belt

Manufacturing metrology for c-Si module reliability and durability Part III: Module manufacturing

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