The application of inkjet direct writing in solar cell fabrication: An overview

Fabrication of solar cells has attracted more and more attention in recent years due to the high demand of energy of modem society. However, one of the major challenges of solar cell manufacturing is associated with the high cost. The development of new materials and fabrication techniques are highly demanded. Various printing techniques, such as spin coating, screen printing, doctor blading, pad printing and inkjet printing, have been adopted in the fabrication of solar cells. In view of their uniqueness and advantages such as noncontact process, high material utilization rate, low cost, flexible and digital patterning, the inkjet printing is believed to be the next generation solar cell manufacturing technology. In this paper, the applications of inkjet printing in both inorganic solar cell and organic solar cell are reviewed, from lab scale to industry production. The related challenges on the technical issues and optimization of the process in the applications are also addressed.