Date: 29/11/2010

Kaneka and imec develops 21% efficient solar cells using copper instead of silver

Kaneka and imec have developed silver-free heterojunction silicon solar cells by applying copper electroplating technology, which was developed by Kaneka based on imec's existing copper electroplating technology, Its stated in the release the conversion efficiency of more than 21% was achieved in 6-inch silicon substrates with an electroplated copper contact grid on top of the transparent conductive oxide layer.

The screen-printed silver is replaced by electroplated copper, which is an economical and industry-proven process. This solution not only overcomes the disadvantages of the silver screen printing, but provides advantages such as enabling higher efficiencies and reducing fabrication costs, stated in the release.