Merck KGaA will be presenting the latest material developments for the photovoltaic industry at the Intersolar Exhibition and Conference in Munich from June 8-10, 2011 and in San Francisco from July 12-14, 2011.
At two important solar trade fairs Merck will showcase the latest developments to its isishape® product line. Under the brand name isishape®, Merck has developed printable etching pastes capable of selectively etching antireflective coatings (e.g. SiNx) and passivation layers (e.g. SiO2 or AlOx) on solar cells as well as on transparent conductive materials (e.g. ITO). Schiller Automation and Merck have jointly developed new equipment for edge isolation of crystalline silicon wafers that uses isishape® SolarEtch® and is designed to cut production costs per watt solar cell dramatically. Having enabled the first mass production of highly efficient selective emitter cells in 2009, Merck isishape® materials are continuously used for this application by various leading solar cell manufacturers.
Also, innovative isishape® technology is showing tremendous potential for developing highly productive new concepts for silicon cells such as MWT (Metal Wrap Through) and LBSF (Local Back Surface Field). Merck's isishape® SolarResistTM is the first ink-jet compatible solution for direct printing of a silicon dioxide diffusion barrier. The unique concept behind isishape® offers environmentally friendly and highly efficient materials for smart and simple structuring in the photovoltaic industry.
In addition, Merck offers the following products for a wide variety of solar cells under the Working with SunshineTM heading:
- Solarpur®: antireflective coatings for solar modules as well as electrolytes and electrolyte components including ionic liquids which, through their versatile electrochemical properties, extend the lifetime of dye sensitized solar cells
- lisicon®: printable organic semiconductors for highly efficient organic solar cells
- livilux®: efficient charge transport materials for organic solar cells
