Featured in Solar springs eternal – 09-2023

Cool under pressure

High-temperature “firing” processes used in passivated emitter rear contact (PERC) and tunnel oxide passivated contact (TOPCon) solar cell production are unsuitable for perovskite and heterojunction (HJT) devices. Mark Hutchins explores how next-generation manufacturers are getting around the problem.

By

Mark Hutchins

07 Sep 2023

Pastes with higher silver content are required to achieve quality metallization without high-temperature processing. | Photo: DKEM

During the metallization and firing stages of production, silicon solar cells typically face temperatures of 750 C to 800 C. Stages such as cell interconnection (soldering) and lamination can also involve exposure to elevated temperatures, which may be limiting possibilities for new materials and processes that could cut manufacturing costs and push higher performance.Mainstream solar …

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