Preparation and sintering of tellurium-doped silver powder for electrodes in silicon solar cells

抄録

Silver electrodes were prepared on the silicon wafer surface using the wetness of an alloy liquid phase produced in the sintering process of the silver powder. Tellurium, which forms a low-melting-point alloy with silver, was doped to the silver powder, and the physical and chemical properties of the synthesized tellurium-doped silver powder were investigated. When silver and tellurium powders were mixed to produce a low-melting-point eutectic crystalline mixture with a silver-to-tellurium ratio of 33.0:67.0 (mol %), a rapid mutual diffusion occurred by heating, following which fusion occurred at the eutectic temperature. When tellurium-doped silver paste prepared with a silver-to-tellurium ratio of 98.5:1.5 (mol %) was printed onto a silicon wafer with texture formed on the surface and then sintered, wetting due to a phase which have been a liquid phase during the sintering process was confirmed at the interface between the silver electrodes and wafer. Silicon was dispersed in silver and tellurium in this phase, and physical contacts of a phase composed of silver, tellurium, and silicon were confirmed between the silver electrodes and wafer.