Applied Nanotech, a nanotechnology company, has announced that it will officially unveil its new pilot production line for solar inks on May 6, 2011.
The company has received federal funding worth $1.6 million to develop the new production line. Applied Nanotech has extended its facility in Austin, Texas to include the pilot manufacturing line. This will facilitate the development and production of prototypes using proprietary nanoparticle inks printed on thin solar cells.
The nanoparticle-based ink formulations of nickel, aluminum, silver and copper will be supplied using inkjet, aerosolized jet and spray coating techniques. In addition, the formulations will be applied using other non-contact printing methods. The process will allow the use of thin silicon wafers for solar applications.
The current trend requires thick PV cell wafers in order to endure the direct contact metallization techniques. These techniques employ screen printing tools, which have direct contact with the solar wafers and can produce sufficient pressure on ultra-thin wafers, resulting in breakage. Silicon is a key material used in solar cell production but proves to be very expensive. However, the material costs of solar cells can be reduced with the use of aerosol jet, inkjet and spray coating methods. Thus, Applied Nanotech’s nanoparticle ink formulations and non-contact printing techniques support the application of ultra-thin solar wafers in high-throughput manufacturing environments.