Laser-induced forward transfer for improving fine-line metallization in photovoltaic applications

International audienceGrand challenges to create new front metallization techniques in photovoltaic focus considerable attention on laser-induced forward transfer (LIFT) approach. This alternative method aims to overcome the limitations of the well-established and mature screen-printing (SP) technique. Such limitations are for instance restrictions in the grid pattern design, high-temperature steps, and limited aspect ratio of the line contact (Poulain et al. in Appl Surf Sci 257: 5241-5244, 2011). Although different new front contact metallization concepts have been studied, most of them require a second print step to increase the volume of the contact (Gao et al. in Proceedings of 25th EU PVSEC conference, 2010; Beaucarne and Schubert in Energy Proc 67: 2-12, 2015; Lossen and Matusovsky in Energy Proc 67: 156-162, 2015; Green in Phys E 14: 65-70, 2002; Lennon et al. in Prog Photovolt Res Appl V21: 1454-1468, 2012). As a result, it is desirable to find innovative metallization techniques to improve the cell efficiency without significantly increasing the cost. Although many challenges remain before to obtain high-quality, robust, and high-performance LIFT contact formation, it required a fully theoretical and experimental assessment. This paper presents the results of a study of the LIFT technique in picosecond regime and thick silver pastes to create high-quality conductive lines for photovoltaic applications