Five Star Technologies, a company focused on fine-particle dispersions for functional inks, has released its ElectroSperse S series of solar inks for use in crystalline silicon photovoltaic cells.
Five Star says the S-500 series silver-based conductive inks enable solar cell makers to lay out front-side grid lines as narrow as 80 to 100 microns. The company's S-600 products – low-bow, lead-free, aluminum-based pastes intended for back-surface field layers – have been designed to co-fire at temperatures compatible with the S-500 silver inks.
According to recent tests conducted by the Georgia Institute of Technology, monocrystalline cells produced with S-540 inks demonstrated cell efficiencies of 17.4%, fill factors approaching 78%, virtually no variation in performance at firing profiles differing by as much as 20 degrees C, and strong n-factor values.
Initial grades of the inks are intended for screen-printing applications, but Five Star says it can control rheology to match a variety of printing processes, including non-contact dispensing approaches.
Five Star Technologies: (216) 447-8497
SOURCE: Five Star Technologies
