The formation mechanism for printed silver-contacts for silicon solar cells

Fields, Jeremy D.; Ahmad, Md. Imteyaz; Pool, Vanessa L.; Yu, Jiafan; Campen, Douglas G. Van; Toney, Michael F.; Hest, Maikel F.A.M. van

doi:10.1038/ncomms11143

Cited by 114 publications

(64 citation statements)

References 15 publications

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“…using beamline 7-2 at SSRL with a photon energy of 12 or 12.6 keV (depending on the experiment). The sample temperature was measured with a sensitive thermocouple that was previously shown to be accurate by comparison of the temperature-dependent Ag diffraction data with the thermocouple35. Lead halide perovskites are beam sensitive and so to avoid significant beam damage, X-ray exposure was limited to 30 s for the duration of the anneal.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Thermal engineering of FAPbI3 perovskite material via radiative thermal annealing and in situ XRD

et al. 2017

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Lead halide perovskites have emerged as successful optoelectronic materials with high photovoltaic power conversion efficiencies and low material cost. However, substantial challenges remain in the scalability, stability and fundamental understanding of the materials. Here we present the application of radiative thermal annealing, an easily scalable processing method for synthesizing formamidinium lead iodide (FAPbI3) perovskite solar absorbers. Devices fabricated from films formed via radiative thermal annealing have equivalent efficiencies to those annealed using a conventional hotplate. By coupling results from in situ X-ray diffraction using a radiative thermal annealing system with device performances, we mapped the processing phase space of FAPbI3 and corresponding device efficiencies. Our map of processing-structure-performance space suggests the commonly used FAPbI3 annealing time, 10 min at 170 °C, can be significantly reduced to 40 s at 170 °C without affecting the photovoltaic performance. The Johnson-Mehl-Avrami model was used to determine the activation energy for decomposition of FAPbI3 into PbI2.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Thermal engineering of FAPbI3 perovskite material via radiative thermal annealing and in situ XRD

et al. 2017

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“…Silver ions that dissolve into the liquid phase flux during firing and other soluble metal ions, such as lead that may be in the starting frit, can form metal‐oxygen redox couples under oxidizing conditions, which also act to help drive the ARC dissolution process as follows:

{Si}_{3} N_{(4 - x)} H_{normalx ((), solid)} + {6Ag}_{2} O_{(IF liquid flux)} = {3SiO}_{2 ((), IF liquid)} + 12 {Ag}_{(solid)} + ((), 2 - 0 . 5x) N_{2 ((), gas)} + ((), 0 . 5x) H_{2 ((), gas) +,}

{Si}_{3} N_{(4 - x)} H_{normalx ((), solid)} + {6PbO}_{(IF liquid flux)} = {3SiO}_{2 ((), IF liquid)} + {6Pb}_{(solid)} + ((), 2 - 0 . 5x) N_{2 ((), gas)} + ((), 0 . 5x) H_{2 ((), gas)} .

…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Tellurium‐based screen‐printable conductor metallizations for crystalline silicon solar cells

Mikeska

Liao

2019

Progress in Photovoltaics

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Tellurium‐based screen‐printable conductor metallization pastes containing multiple inorganic solid‐state frits (ie, metallization pastes containing two or more individual discrete tellurium‐based frits) were evaluated on p‐type, mono‐crystalline silicon passivated emitter rear cell (PERC) wafers. Individual discrete frits with tellurium‐lead‐metal‐oxygen compositions of Tenormalx()Pby0.25emMz0.25emMnormalz''0.25emMnormalznormalii()1−normalxnormaln+On+2 were prepared with varying ratios of tellurium and lead cations. Screen‐printed solar cells fabricated from metallization pastes containing multiple discrete frits (two, three, and four discrete frits) had state‐of‐the‐art solar cell electrical properties (Eff = 21.1%). Mechanisms for the oxidation, dissolution, and removal of the SiNx:H antireflective coating (ARC) by tellurium‐based metallizations during solar cell firing are examined. In situ thermal analysis of a model frit‐silicon nitride system shows that frit glass transition temperatures coincide with the onset of silicon nitride oxidation during heating in accord with dissolution reactions. The advantage of multiple frit systems is an inherent ability to fine‐tune the final chemistry of the conductor metallization, beyond what is possible with single frit systems, to further improve solar cell performance, which is essential for advanced crystalline silicon solar cell devices and continued reductions in processing costs.

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“…Use of Cu‐plated metallisation may introduce failure modes in addition to those observed with screen‐printed cells due to the larger number of metal interfaces and the possibility of Cu ingress into the Si. Additionally, unlike screen‐printed Ag fingers which are fired to induce the penetration of Ag crystallites into the Si, plated metal adheres to a Ni silicide surface. This different contact formation method also introduces the possibility of finger (and busbar) dislodgement in modules.…”

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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The formation mechanism for printed silver-contacts for silicon solar cells

Cited by 114 publications

References 15 publications

Thermal engineering of FAPbI3 perovskite material via radiative thermal annealing and in situ XRD

Thermal engineering of FAPbI3 perovskite material via radiative thermal annealing and in situ XRD

Tellurium‐based screen‐printable conductor metallizations for crystalline silicon solar cells

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

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