Screen Printable Sol-Gel Materials for High-Throughput Borosilicate Glass Film Production
The use of sol-gel materials can simplify the industrial fabrication of high-efficiency silicon solar cells if a suitable deposition method is established. In this work, we investigate the possibilities to adapt a borosilicate glass sol-gel to provide a stable screen printing process. This material...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2022-08-01
|
| Series: | Molecules |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/27/17/5408 |
| _version_ | 1797494273018429440 |
|---|---|
| author | Jonas D. Huyeng Raphael Efinger David Bruge Oliver Doll Roman J. Keding Florian Clement |
| author_facet | Jonas D. Huyeng Raphael Efinger David Bruge Oliver Doll Roman J. Keding Florian Clement |
| author_sort | Jonas D. Huyeng |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The use of sol-gel materials can simplify the industrial fabrication of high-efficiency silicon solar cells if a suitable deposition method is established. In this work, we investigate the possibilities to adapt a borosilicate glass sol-gel to provide a stable screen printing process. This material has previously been used as a boron dopant source for silicon solar cells. We now use an adjusted synthesis process, with an increased gelling time and different additives. This changes the rheological properties (i.e., the elastic and viscous moduli <i>G′</i> and <i>G″</i>) in a way that avoids the dripping of paste through the screen and that stabilizes the material transfer in subsequent printing steps. Using this synthesis process, we were able to show a printing process with long-term stability of more than 500 prints. When comparing the adjusted to the initial paste, we show that, after thermal treatment, the obtained thin films are very similar in terms of their constitution, with a refractive index between <i>n</i> = 1.47 (initial) and <i>n</i> = 1.55 (adjusted). We also show that they provide the same amount of doping under the tested conditions (950 °C, 30 min), resulting in sheet resistances of <i>R</i><sub>□</sub> = (42.5 ± 2.6) Ω/□ (initial) and <i>R</i><sub>□</sub> = (46.4 ± 3.6) Ω/□ (adjusted). |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T01:31:59Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-cb610a23c36a43d7bf0437a0e19ac7da |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1420-3049 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T01:31:59Z |
| publishDate | 2022-08-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Molecules |
| spelling | doaj.art-cb610a23c36a43d7bf0437a0e19ac7da2023-11-23T13:41:26ZengMDPI AGMolecules1420-30492022-08-012717540810.3390/molecules27175408Screen Printable Sol-Gel Materials for High-Throughput Borosilicate Glass Film ProductionJonas D. Huyeng0Raphael Efinger1David Bruge2Oliver Doll3Roman J. Keding4Florian Clement5Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE, Heidenhofstr. 2, 79110 Freiburg, GermanyFraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE, Heidenhofstr. 2, 79110 Freiburg, GermanyMerck KGaA, Frankfurter Str. 250, 64293 Darmstadt, GermanyMerck KGaA, Frankfurter Str. 250, 64293 Darmstadt, GermanyFraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE, Heidenhofstr. 2, 79110 Freiburg, GermanyFraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE, Heidenhofstr. 2, 79110 Freiburg, GermanyThe use of sol-gel materials can simplify the industrial fabrication of high-efficiency silicon solar cells if a suitable deposition method is established. In this work, we investigate the possibilities to adapt a borosilicate glass sol-gel to provide a stable screen printing process. This material has previously been used as a boron dopant source for silicon solar cells. We now use an adjusted synthesis process, with an increased gelling time and different additives. This changes the rheological properties (i.e., the elastic and viscous moduli <i>G′</i> and <i>G″</i>) in a way that avoids the dripping of paste through the screen and that stabilizes the material transfer in subsequent printing steps. Using this synthesis process, we were able to show a printing process with long-term stability of more than 500 prints. When comparing the adjusted to the initial paste, we show that, after thermal treatment, the obtained thin films are very similar in terms of their constitution, with a refractive index between <i>n</i> = 1.47 (initial) and <i>n</i> = 1.55 (adjusted). We also show that they provide the same amount of doping under the tested conditions (950 °C, 30 min), resulting in sheet resistances of <i>R</i><sub>□</sub> = (42.5 ± 2.6) Ω/□ (initial) and <i>R</i><sub>□</sub> = (46.4 ± 3.6) Ω/□ (adjusted).https://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/27/17/5408sol-gelborosilicatescreen printingsolar cellsrheologydoping |
| spellingShingle | Jonas D. Huyeng Raphael Efinger David Bruge Oliver Doll Roman J. Keding Florian Clement Screen Printable Sol-Gel Materials for High-Throughput Borosilicate Glass Film Production Molecules sol-gel borosilicate screen printing solar cells rheology doping |
| title | Screen Printable Sol-Gel Materials for High-Throughput Borosilicate Glass Film Production |
| title_full | Screen Printable Sol-Gel Materials for High-Throughput Borosilicate Glass Film Production |
| title_fullStr | Screen Printable Sol-Gel Materials for High-Throughput Borosilicate Glass Film Production |
| title_full_unstemmed | Screen Printable Sol-Gel Materials for High-Throughput Borosilicate Glass Film Production |
| title_short | Screen Printable Sol-Gel Materials for High-Throughput Borosilicate Glass Film Production |
| title_sort | screen printable sol gel materials for high throughput borosilicate glass film production |
| topic | sol-gel borosilicate screen printing solar cells rheology doping |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/27/17/5408 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT jonasdhuyeng screenprintablesolgelmaterialsforhighthroughputborosilicateglassfilmproduction AT raphaelefinger screenprintablesolgelmaterialsforhighthroughputborosilicateglassfilmproduction AT davidbruge screenprintablesolgelmaterialsforhighthroughputborosilicateglassfilmproduction AT oliverdoll screenprintablesolgelmaterialsforhighthroughputborosilicateglassfilmproduction AT romanjkeding screenprintablesolgelmaterialsforhighthroughputborosilicateglassfilmproduction AT florianclement screenprintablesolgelmaterialsforhighthroughputborosilicateglassfilmproduction |