Influence of CeO2-doped glass powder on silver paste performance in photovoltaic solar cells

Abstract

With the advancement of green photovoltaic solar cells, silver paste has sparked vast research interest. As a key functional component of silver paste, glass powder plays a vital role by etching the SiN_x layer to achieve ohmic contact with the silicon layer. To investigate the influence of individual oxides on the Te–Bi–B glass system, this study doped 0.5 wt% CeO₂, ZrO₂, and Nb₂O₅ into the Te–Bi–B system and prepared a series of glass powders via the high-temperature quenching method. The effects of these dopants on key parameters, including high-temperature flowability, wettability, and thermal stability, were systematically investigated. The results indicate that all three glass powders exhibit suitable glass transition temperatures but undergo relatively pronounced crystallisation reactions. Among them, the CeO₂-doped glass powder demonstrates superior chemical stability, high-temperature flowability, and wettability. Therefore, CeO₂ is identified as the optimal dopant oxide, and silver paste prepared from it significantly enhanced Ag–Si interface bonding, achieving maximum silver electrode adhesion (3.87 N) and minimum volume resistivity (2.8 × 10⁻⁸ Ω m), thereby demonstrating excellent sintering performance. Furthermore, the CeO₂-doped glass powder significantly influences the etching of silicon emitters and the Ag–Si ohmic contact structure, reducing contact resistance in photovoltaic solar cells and consequently improving their photovoltaic conversion efficiency (23.17%).