Ferro Electronic Materials, a supplier of materials for fabricating photovoltaic silicon solar cells, has developed two new rear aluminum conductor pastes: AL 5130 and AL 5131.
According to the company, the new pastes allow cell manufacturers to reduce paste consumption by up to 20% and form a strong, uniform back surface field that increases absolute electrical efficiency by as much as 0.2% compared to competing products.
The products provide high adhesion to silicon and EVA film and enable the use of thinner cells that cut silicon costs. On silicon wafers with a thickness of 180 microns, bowing is less 1.5mm with both pastes, Ferro says.
AL 5130 and AL 5131 have pure aluminum metallurgy with high solids content and enable fast printing at speeds of more than 200 mm/sec, the company adds. The new pastes are RoHS- and REACH-compliant; AL 5130 is free of lead, cadmium and phthalates.