This company introduced several metallization pastes at the recent 26th European Photovoltaic Solar Energy Conference and Exhibition (PVSEC) in Hamburg, Germany. The new products can reportedly make solar energy more cost-competitive by providing higher electrical efficiencies and/or reducing material usage. The pastes introduced at PVSEC are part of 25 product launches planned by Ferro in the second half of 2011.

“We’re helping our customers reduce their production cost per watt,” said Jeff Edel, Global Business director. “The products we’ve just introduced offer improvements for several technologies, including traditional crystalline silicon cells, next-generation cell designs such as metal wrap through and back-side passivated cells, and low-temperature applications like thin film, module, amorphous silicon, and ITO- or TCO-coated wafers.”

The products include NS 3132 BP bottom layer and NS 3133 TP top layer double print pastes, which offer compatibility and enable the printing of taller, narrower grid lines that boost conductivity and reduce shading to enhance efficiency. The new NS 3130 and NS 3131 front silver pastes can reduce costs while providing high efficiency, durability, and manufacturability. A new MWT paste system for p-type cells can boost the electrical efficiency of polycrystalline silicon-based solar cells to more than 18%. Finally, two new aluminum pastes can enhance efficiency of next-generation cell architectures by maintaining the passivation and quality of silicon nitride antireflective coatings.

For more information, visit www.ferro.com.