Taiwan's Sunrise Global Solar says it has a new record 19.2% efficient screen-printed solar cell structure, helped by Schmid's selective emitter technology, and ready for mass production within a couple of months.

April 21, 2011 - Taiwanese crystalline silicon (c-Si) solar cell maker Sunrise Global Solar says it has developed a 19.2% efficient silicon solar cell ready for mass-production, thanks in part to Schmid's selective emitter technology. Measurements were confirmed by the U. of Konstanz and the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems.

The mark is for a "conventionally processed" standard single-sided screen-printed solar cell structure, on industrial-grade 6-in. mc-Si wafers (Czochralski) with conventional screen-printed Al backside. Key to the achievement was Schmid's selective emitter, which hiked up the cell's efficiency "by up to 0.6 percent absolute," according to Christian Buchner, VP of Schmid's cell business unit, in a statement. In Schmid's combined printing and etching processes, the high phosphorous doping layer is selectively etched to be where printed contacts are later inkjet-printed via a wax mask. The process also offers "an outstanding level of precision and process stability," he added.

For Sunrise's part, "we are thrilled that out of our many technological development programs that the Schmid selective emitter process has developed so quickly into mass production," stated CEO Hsu Kuei-Chang. The company expects to ramp a 330MW (annualized) capacity high-efficiency cell factory "within the next two months."

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Digital printing of etch masks on solar cells. (Source: Sunrise)