DuPont unveils PV metallization pastes
DuPont Microcircuit Materials has developed DuPont Solamet PV76x photovoltaic metallizations, a new series of front-side silver pastes to maximize efficiencies and improve the reliability of solar cells and panels utilizing Passivated Emitter Rear Cell (PERC) technology.
The Solamet PV76x paste has been successfully tested at solar cell and panel manufacturer Solartech Energy, helping it achieve a new power output record for its Sapphire panel.
"Solamet PV76x paste is the only front-side silver material specifically designed to maximize PERC efficiency that has been demonstrated in production," said Thomas Lin, global PV marketing manager for DuPont.
"We've seen impressive results working in collaboration with Solartech and advances in Solamet technology continue to lead the industry to new heights of panel power output. We look forward to more firsts to come as we roll out additional Solamet technologies."
DuPont has been working with Solartech since its inception in 2005, advancing efficiency with successive generations of Solamet pastes.
Solartech most recently used Solamet PV76x front-side silver paste as part of a complete system, together with Solamet PV36x aluminum paste and PV56x tabbing silver, to achieve 19.6 per cent total efficiency with multi-crystalline PERC solar cells.
These high solar cell efficiencies, together with a four bus-bar design and low light induced degradation (LID) levels, have enabled the development of Solartech's 60-cell Sapphire panel, featuring 286 W of power "“ the highest output reported for that type of panel.
"The collaboration between Solartech and DuPont has helped maximize the power output of our Sapphire solar panel, opening up new opportunities for us in the market and enabling our customers to achieve higher financial returns," said Kong-Hsin Liu, chairman of Solartech.
The introduction of Solamet PV76x paste marks the latest in a series of precedents for DuPont innovation with PERC technology.
DuPont was the first in the industry to introduce local back surface field aluminum pastes and rear-side tabbing pastes specifically designed for industrial PERC solar cells, with the Solamet PV36x series aluminum pastes and Solamet PV56x series rear-side tabbing pastes, respectively.
With the Solamet PV76x series front-side silver pastes, DuPont is now the first in the industry to develop front-side silver pastes specifically for PERC technology.
DuPont Solamet-integrated metallization solutions for PERC have been demonstrated in production to deliver more than 0.15 per cent significant efficiency gains for both multi and mono-crystalline silicon PERC cells.
DuPont will feature the new Solartech panel at booth W4-555 during the SNEC PV Power Expo in Shanghai, China, from April 28-30.
