Heraeus Introduces New Front-side Silver Paste at PV Taiwan International Photovoltaic Exhibition

New paste provides greater adhesion and improves conversion efficiency of Diamond-Wire-Cut (DWC) multicrystaline solar cells.

Heraeus Photovoltaics, the worldwide leading supplier of metallization solutions to the PV industry, announced the introduction of a new paste specifically designed for Diamond-Wire-Cut (DWC) multicrystaline solar cells at the PV Taiwan International Photovoltaic Exhibition.

The SOL9651D series front-side silver paste was developed by Heraeus in response to the growing industry adoption of DWC multicrystaline solar cells with a specially textured surface. Industry analysts expect DWC cells to have 80% market share by the end of 2018. Weiming Zhang, Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer of Heraeus Photovoltaics, noted that the development and production of the SOL9651D paste was accelerated to meet the cell’s technical requirements and deliver superior performance. He said, “When products like DWC quickly emerge to become the de-facto industry choice for cell manufacturers, it is critical that the right paste be ready and capable to deliver. Heraeus SOL9651D ensures manufacturers can avoid speed bumps on their innovation roadmap.”

The launch of the SOL9651D paste series marks another milestone by Heraeus to help solar cell companies improve cell efficiency, address costs and stay ahead of rapid technology developments. For companies that are using DWC cells, SOL9651D is specifically designed to provide a wide range of capabilities and benefits, including:

-Raising the conversion efficiency of DWC cells by >0.1%

-Superior busbar adhesion and reliability on DWC cells with Additive/MCCE/RIE-texturing

-Ultra-fine-line compatibility for additional efficiency gain on specially textured DWC cells

-Balanced metallization contact and Voc with efficiency improvement

-The availability of single, double printing and knotless screen packages

The new glass chemistry was developed to provide excellent adhesion of SOL9651D, which allows customers to optimize their busbar design for better electrical performance and cost reduction, especially on DWC/Black-silicon texturing. Additionally, this paste series has a wide firing window, which makes the paste specifically suitable for the application on PERC solar cells. It shows superior adhesion for PERC cell and is compatible for both multi and mono crystalline wafers. As testified by customers, SOL9651D Series has outstanding LID (Light Induced Degradation) performance by reducing the negative impact of irradiation of the charge carrier lifetime.