As renewable energy becomes increasingly prevalent, solar technology becomes more important. Over the course of the last decade, the solar industry has experienced an average annual growth rate of 33 percent. This is largely due to the use of screen-printed solar cells. While you may know that your industry relies heavily on them, you may not understand how they’re made and how the technology is advancing. Below are six things to know about screen-printed solar cells.
Many aspects of solar energy production are new, and advancements are being made every day. However, screen-printed solar cells have been around for a long time. Created in the 1970s, screen-printed solar cells were considered the best way to address a step in the solar panel creation process. This continues to be true today. While the screen printing process has been honed and refined over the years, most companies that produce solar panels rely on this tried and true production method.
Most people recognize solar panels by their distinctive grid pattern. In fact, many wouldn’t recognize solar panels without it. The pattern comes from binding together different solar cells through the busbars that run between the cells. It is these busbars that are printed onto the panel. The busbars route the solar power created by individual cells to a single point, from which it can leave the panel and make its way to where it’s needed.
When many people think of screen printing, they think of graphics printed on t-shirts or other clothing items. In this process, the item of clothing is covered with a stencil or pattern. Ink is then applied over this pattern, and the corresponding image is left imprinted on the clothing.
Screen-printed solar cells are made using a remarkably similar process. Solar panels need metal coating running through them to function. However, the panels can’t be entirely coated with metal, or there would be no space for sunlight to pass through. To accomplish this, a screen that allows the metal coating to get through in specific places is placed over the cells, and then metal is applied over the entire panel.
While screen printing solar cells is similar to screen printing other materials, the process for solar cells requires far more precision. If you make a mistake while printing a t-shirt, the design might just look a little off. If you make a mistake while printing solar panels, however, it can limit their ability to produce electricity or make them entirely useless.
This is partially because screen printing is a repetitive process. If the original design is off, the error will be repeated each time that design is used. If it’s used multiple times before the error is caught, the result can be disastrous, so solar panel producers need to carefully ensure that the initial screen is exactly right. As a result, this job is often best left to companies with proven experience producing precision screens.
Like many aspects of the solar energy industry, the technology behind screen-printed solar cells is constantly being researched and refined. One of the main ways the technology is improving is by routing more light to the cells. This involves making small changes that impact the way light moves through the solar panel. While fine tuning this step in the process may only lead to a few percentage points of increased efficiency, these few percentage points, when applied to a wide field of solar panels, will have a huge impact.
Screen printing is currently used as a part of the overall solar panel creation process. In the future, however, it may play an even more pivotal role. Advances in nanoparticle technology are allowing for the creation of photovoltaic cells that are thinner than ever. These are capable of being printed onto a variety of surfaces.
One of the most promising of these surfaces is windows. If a thin layer or pattern of solar technology is printed directly into a windowpane, the window effectively becomes a solar panel. This opens the door for more solar panels in more places. Entire buildings could have solar windows while doing very little to change their look or design, allowing for solar energy creation on a massive scale.
Screen-printed solar cells are continuously evolving, helping make solar a larger and more reliable part of how we meet our energy needs. To learn more about how we support solar cell manufacturing, electronics production, and other high-tech industries, follow the MicroScreen blog.