Metallization of solar cells with ink jet printing and silver metallo-organic inks

A computer-controlled ink-jet printing system for photovoltaic metallization is proposed. Ink-jet printable MOD (metalorganic decomposition) inks of Ag, Bi, Nb, and Ti were synthesized for the photovoltaic study. Computer-controlled ink-jet-assisted metallization for photovoltaics in the low processing temperature range was studied. With a titanium/palladium thin-film underlayer and the multilayer printing method, satisfactory cells for 8.08% average without AR coating were obtained. The effects of thermal processes on the solar cells were investigated. It was observed that appropriate thermal processes could improve the contact resistance and the efficiency of the solar cells, but excess thermal processes would destroy the solar cells.< >