Performance comparison of front-side silver pastes using polyalkylene carbonates for cleaner burning binder system

Clean-burning binder systems used in paste formulations for front side solar cell applications offer advantages of reduced residual carbon, improved conductive feature density, and overall performance and reliability. This paper presents the technical advantages of employing polyalkylene carbonates (QPAC®) as the principle binder for paste formulations used in front side solar screen printing applications. Thermal and rheological characteristics are presented and compared with standard or conventional pastes currently employed in production lines producing solar cell front side geometry. Microstructural comparisons of conductive features of the front side geometry are examined and related to aspects of adhesion performance and resistive losses.