Presentation Details
| Nickel Interlayer for Improved Silver Complex Inks Metallization in GaAs Photovoltaic Devices Thien Truong1, Mirzo Mirzokarimov1, Sarah Collins1, Mitchell Smith2, Melbs LeMieux2, Theresa Saenz1, Thales Borreley1, Jacob Cordell1, David Young1, Myles Steiner1. 1National Laboratory of the Rockies, Golden, CO, USA.2Electroninks, Inc., Austin, TX, USA |
Abstract
Large areas of III-V photovoltaic panels are essential to supplying operational energy for a growing demand of satellites of strategic importance to the United States military, covering a range of applications. High fabrication costs and low manufacturing throughput are key barriers to meeting the necessary supply, which can in turn jeopardize mission success. At the device level, metallization based on printing of complex metal inks has attracted significant research interest due to its potential to substantially reduce processing costs and increase throughput while achieving electrical performance comparable to those of conventional metallization schemes. For GaAs photovoltaic devices, however, reliable electrical contacting remains challenging due to the formation of an interfacial oxide layer at the metal–semiconductor interface. This oxide barrier severely limits current extraction from the PV absorber, resulting in unacceptably high contact resistance. In this study, we report the introduction of a reactive nickel (Ni) interfacial layer between the silver metal fingers and the GaAs substrate to suppress oxide formation while maintaining a low-resistance electrical interface, and show performance data from fully fabricated GaAs devices incorporating the Ni interlayer. These results demonstrate the potential of reactive Ni ink as an effective interfacial layer for improved electrical contacting in low-cost PV metallization schemes.
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No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the author.
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