Role of PbO-based glass frit in Ag thick-film contact formation for crystalline Si solar cells

The reactions between Ag pastes containing two types of PbO-based glass frits and an n-type (100) Si wafer during firing in air at 800 °C were investigated in order to understand the mechanism for the formation of inverted pyramidal Ag crystallites at the Si interface as well as the effect of the PbO content of the glass frit on Ag crystallite formation. Inverted pyramidal Ag crystallites were formed by the precipitation of Ag atoms dissolved in fluidized glass during the subsequent cooling process after firing. PbO in the glass frit did not participate directly in the reaction with the Si wafer. However, its content had a strong influence on the reaction rate at the glass/Si interface and, thus, on the size and distribution of the Ag crystallites. The effect of the PbO content in the glass could be understood from the higher Ag solubility and lower viscosity of the glass at the firing temperature with increasing PbO content. Based on the experimental results, a model was proposed for the formation of Ag crystallites at the glass/Si interface during the firing process of screen-printed thick-film Ag metallization.