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High Temperature Copper Metallization: Demand, Hurdles and Reliability

Conference ·
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As newer cells structures come online, the pressing need to replace silver in the metallization pastes has renewed interest in alternative technologies employing base metals. Copper typically leads the charge with its abundance and lower cost but has faced numerous obstacles from relatively higher oxidation and diffusion rates which can damage the lifetime of the devices. In this study, a low-cost alternative to silver metallization pastes has been shown on PERC cells. The screen printable copper paste can be fired in air at temperatures >500 degrees C, and the impact of processing conditions and equipment on the performance and reliability of 274 cm2 cells have been evaluated. Through damp heat testing of micro-modules using 16 cm2 cells, routes that can lead to both the failure and success of durable contacts have been demonstrated.
Research Organization:
National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL)
DOE Contract Number:
AC36-08GO28308
OSTI ID:
2499738
Report Number(s):
NREL/CP-5K00-92693; MainId:94474; UUID:8cb4aa90-2777-46cc-9495-d5539497b5dc; MainAdminId:75744
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

References (10)

Degradation of copper‐plated silicon solar cells with damp heat stress journal August 2020
Development of nanoparticle copper screen printing pastes for silicon heterojunction solar cells journal September 2019
Degradation of plated silicon solar module due to copper diffusion: The role of capping layer formation and contact adhesion journal September 2020
Investigation of contact formation mechanism and application of copper-based front contact paste for crystalline silicon solar cells journal May 2023
Design considerations for multi-terawatt scale manufacturing of existing and future photovoltaic technologies: challenges and opportunities related to silver, indium and bismuth consumption journal January 2021
Screen printable, non-fire-through copper paste applied as busbar metallization for back contact solar cells conference January 2022
Rapid Thermal Annealing of Screen-printable Atmospheric Cu Pastes for PERC Solar Cell conference December 2020
A Fill Factor Loss Analysis Method for Silicon Wafer Solar Cells journal October 2013
Baking temperature dependence of Cu paste on A1-BSF cell properties conference June 2017
Winter 2024 Solar Industry Update report January 2024

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Related Subjects

SOLAR ENERGY
copper
electric potential
metallization
optimization
oxidation
performance evaluation
photovoltaic systems
pressing
reliability
silver