Identifying Screen Properties to Optimise Solar Cell Efficiency and Cost

With an increasing competition in the solar market, most cell manufacturers are moving towards aggressive reduction in direct material cost, while still committed to improve cell efficiency. Although front side silver metallisation has always been part of cell efficiency optimisation, recent focus has been heavily shifted to reducing the paste consumption as well while maintaining the contact quality in a vast range of emitters. Therefore, this challenge relies greatly on paste manufacturers to produce low resistivity materials and on choosing the right screen mesh, print layout and emulsion thickness to optimise efficiency at a reduced cost. The purpose of this study is to identify cell parameters trends with respect to changes in screen properties and consumption.