Monday, September 12, 2011

The Solar Bill of Rights

From: http://www.solarbillofrights.us/solar-bill-of-rights.html

We declare these rights not on behalf of our companies, but on behalf of our customers and our country.  We seek no more than the freedom to compete on equal terms and no more than the liberty for consumers to choose the energy source they think best.

1. Americans have the right to put solar on their homes or businesses

Millions of Americans want to put solar on the roof of their home or business, but many are prevented from doing so by local restrictions. Some homeowners associations have prevented residents from going solar through neighborhood covenants, which allow for the association to veto any changes to a property’s aesthetics. Some utilities and municipalities have also made it prohibitively time-consuming and/or expensive to have a system permitted or inspected.

2. Americans have the right to connect their solar energy system to the grid with uniform national standards

Currently, each state (in some cases, each utility) has a unique process for connecting solar systems to the local electricity grid. National interconnection standards will create a uniform process and paperwork, creating a simple process for the homeowner and a standardized physical connection for manufacturers. Connecting a home solar system shouldn’t be any more complicated for the homeowner than setting up an Internet connection.

3. Americans have the right to Net Meter and be compensated at the very least with full retail electricity rates

Residential solar systems generate excess electricity in the middle of the day, when the owners aren’t usually at home. Net metering requires the utility company to credit any excess generation to the customer at full retail rates at a minimum – effectively running the electricity meter backwards when the system is generating more electricity than the occupants of the house are using. Allowing customers to net meter is critical to making solar an economically viable option for most homeowners. 

4. The solar industry has the right to a fair competitive environment

The highly profitable fossil fuel industries have received tens of billions of dollars in subsidies from the federal government for decades. In addition, fossil fuel industries are protected from bearing the full social costs of the pollution they produce. The solar energy industry and the public expect a fair playing field, with all energy sources evaluated based on their full, life-cycle costs and benefits to society.  Therefore it is critical that solar energy receive the same level of support, for the same duration, as the fossil fuel industry.

5. The solar industry has the right to produce clean energy on public lands

America has some of the best solar resources in the world, which are often on public lands overseen by the federal government. But even though oil and gas industries are producing on 13 million acres of public lands, no solar permits have been approved. Solar is a clean, renewable American resource and solar development on public lands is a critical component of any national strategy to expand our use of renewable energy.

6. The solar industry has the right to sell its power across a new, 21st century transmission grid

Over the last 100 years, the transmission grid in the United States has been built as a patchwork of local systems, designed and planned to meet local needs. As the needs of customers have changed, so has the way the electric industry does business.  What haven’t changed are the rules crafted in an era of coal-fired power plants. What is needed now is an investment in infrastructure to connect areas rich in solar resources with major population centers.

7. Americans have the right to buy solar electricity from their utility

Many utility companies have never considered offering their customers the option to purchase clean solar energy, rather than dirty energy from coal or other fossil fuels. Nation-wide over 90 percent of people support increased use of solar energy, and over three-quarters believe it should be a major priority of the federal government. Despite this, only around 25 percent of utility customers in the U.S. have the ability to actually purchase clean, renewable power from their utility, and only a fraction of those programs offer solar energy.  Utilities should be required to offer the electricity source that their customers want.

8. Americans have the right to – and should expect – the highest ethical treatment from the solar industry
Solar energy systems are an investment as much as a physical product. Consumers deserve top-quality information and treatment from solar energy providers and installers. Consumers should expect the solar industry to minimize its environmental impact and communicate information about available incentives in a clear, accurate and accessible manner. Finally, consumers should expect that solar systems will work better than advertised, and that companies will make every good faith effort to support solar owners over the life of their systems. Read SEIA’s code of ethics.

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Thursday, September 1, 2011

DSSC..Similar to Semiconductors


The basic dye cell manufacturing steps also resemble the approaches taken by the semiconductor and packaging industry. For example, a screen printer is typically used to apply titania and other layers to the Transparent Conductive Optical (TCg or TCO) glass. Nanocrystalline TiO2 pastes are screen printed onto the TCO glass, then dried and fired in a continuous belt furnace. The sintering process allows the titanium dioxide nanocrystals to partially “melt” together, in order to ensure electrical contact and mechanical adhesion on the glass. All these furnaces are typically modified from standard thick film furnaces. 

After dye staining and anode side application of proprietary current collectors, platinum catalyst is obtained by using the Pt-Catalyst T/SP product which can either be squeegee printed or screen-printed using a polyester mesh of 90. The solar cell needs to be dried at 100°C for 10 minutes before being fired at 400°C for 30 minutes. During the assembly, sealing and filling processes, TCO glass with the completed Titania layer is mated to the cathode current collector, protective glass plate, sealed, busbar attached to the cell and then the cell is filled with electrolyte. Custom designed, fully automated and efficient cell assembly, sealing and electrolyte filling machine sets are required for these production steps. 

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Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Solar Cell Manufacturing in the Second Generation


Second generation solar cell, also known as thin-film solar cell (TFSC) or thin-film photovoltaic cell (TFPV), is made by depositing one or more thin layers (thin films) of photovoltaic material on a substrate. The most advanced second-generation thin film materials in use today are amorphous silicon (aSi), cadmium telluride (CdTe), and copper indium gallium selenide (CigS). The thickness range of such a layer is wide and varies from a few nanometers to tens of micrometers. is thin-film now the way to go? There are certainly many good reasons for moving to thin films for the solar cell manufacturing process. 

1. Thin film deposition. 

Copper indium gallium selenide (CigS) is used for the thin film active layers in CigS solar cells, commonly formed using 
sputter deposition. During this vacuum-based process, a plasma of electrons and ions is created from inert argon gas. These ions dislodge atoms from the surface of a crystalline material which is then deposited to form an extremely thin coating on a substrate. Depositing thin film by sputtering is the same process used in semiconductor manufacture and in packaging. 

2. Thin film annealing. 

After sputtering, the thin film needs to be annealed to achieve optimum results. it is also possible to inject additional chemicals during the annealing process. An annealing furnace is similar to the brazing furnace commonly used in packaging industries. The muffle is typically made of SUS 316L material to ensure good corrosion resistance for the thin film solar panel’s corrosive environment. A typical belt furnace can anneal up to 600 x 1200mm (23.6 x 47.2-in.) thin film solar panels after thin film deposition. 

3. Metallization. 

Like its first generation cousin, the manufacture of thin film solar cells need Al or Ag screen printing metallization, originally invented for the thick film process. Such metallization pastes or inks can be used on both rigid (glass, silicon) and flexible (polyimide, polyester, stainless steel) substrates. The metallization can be accomplished through either thermal curing or firing. 

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Tuesday, August 30, 2011

The Screen-Printing Method


The screen-printing method consists of a thick film metal paste that is composed of metal powder, glass fritt, solvent and non-volatile polymers that are blended together in a three roll mill. A squeegee applies a downward force on the paste moving it across the screen that has a deposition pattern within. This action creates a reduction in viscosity of the paste so it can penetrate into the screen holes. This way, the metal paste is deposited in select patterns onto the substrate. The factors that affect the screen-printing process include snap off distance, squeegee pressure and squeegee speed.

The snap off distance is the distance between the screen and the wafer. During the printing process, when the paste is printed onto the screen, a downward force is applied to the screen. The screen, being elastic, restores its shape and this upward movement aids in the deposition of the paste. If the snap off distance was too high, then pressure will have to be applied to force the paste onto the wafer. If it is too low, the paste might not get released from the screen. The pressure applied also plays an important role in the deposition of the paste. When too much pressure is applied, excessive paste from the screen could be deposited which can break the wafer. On the contrary, when too little pressure is applied, the paste might not get released from the screen at all. The speed of the squeegee movement also determines the print quality. If the speed is too high, the paste can miss many holes and lead to a non-uniform deposition.

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Monday, August 29, 2011

Principles and Advantages of Ultrasonic Belt Cleaning

In an ultrasonic belt cleaner, the solvent vibrates at ultrasonic frequencies. These ultrasonic waves cause extremely rapid pressure decreases and increases in the fluid. The sudden decrease develops instants where the water can no longer exist in a fluid state and, as a result, gas bubbles form. In other words, water can only exist in a liquid state above a minimum pressure (the threshold of cavitation). When the pressure decreases below the critical pressure, the water becomes a gas and evaporates. Then, at the ensuing increase in pressure, the gas bubbles will collapse again. This process of creating minute bubbles in the liquid is known as cavitation and it is responsible for the scrubbing effect that propagates ultrasonic cleaning.


Simply put, the advantages of using ultrasonic belt cleaning technology have to do with precision, speed, and consistency. Ultrasonic energy infiltrates obscure regions of the belt, which means that all areas of the belt will be categorically cleansed. Ultrasonic cleaning also works faster than any other conventional cleaning procedure in the elimination of contaminants. Due to the efficiency of ultrasonic antisepsis, the labor saving advantages designate ultrasonic technology as the preeminent economical design in cleaning furnace belts. And, unlike manual cleaning (like using a steel brush) ultrasonic technology offers incomparable cleaning consistency throughout the entire belt.


Using a steel brush as a tool for cleaning the belt, on the other hand, can often be time-consuming, imprecise, and inconsistent. A steel brush uses steel wire bristles to clean the surface area around the belt, however, due to its abrasive nature and inability to reach abstruse regions of the belt, it does not obtain the cleaning capabilities that an ultrasonic belt cleaner can easily handle.

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Thursday, August 25, 2011

What a DSSC is!

A dye-sensitized solar cell is composed primarily of three parts. The first part, the substrate, is the negative terminal. The substrate has a layer of transparent glass on the outside and a coating of transparent conductive oxide (TCO) on the inside. This warrants sunlight to pass through. In the center sector, a layer of dye sensitizers bind to a layer of nano-structured titanium dioxide (TiO2), where the TiO2 is connected to the negative terminal to collect sunlight. All of the layers are then immersed in an electrolyte solution to allow charge transportation. The top part is the positive terminal and it contains a coating of carbon (graphite) or platinum for the purpose of transferring electrons. The outside layer is made of transparent glass and the top and bottom divisions are joined together to prevent the centered portion from leaking.


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Monday, August 15, 2011

Solar Cell Process Applications for Belt Furnaces


Thick Film Processing
After a paste is screened onto a substrate and it settles for 5–15 minutes at room temperature, it undergoes oven drying at 100-150°C for 10–15 minutes to remove solvents. Firing is then completed in conveyor belt furnaces at temperatures between 500-1000°C.

Crystalline Silicon Solar Cell Manufacturing
Electrical contacts are usually formed by screen printing. The firing is done in conveyor belt furnaces at a temperature of about 700°C for a few minutes. Upon firing, the organic solvents evaporate and the metal powder becomes a conducting path for the electrical current.

Thin Film Solar Cells Manufacturing
A transparent conducting glass, coated with doped SnO2 or ITO film, is used as a substrate. A thin film, such as CdS, is then deposited through CSS or CBD techniques. The CdS film is heat treated by a conveyor belt furnace in a reducing atmosphere or in the presence of CdCl2 at 400-500°C.

Dye Sensitized Solar Cells (DSSC) Manufacturing
TiO2 nanoparticles have been used extensively to increase the interfacial surface area in Dye Sensitized Solar Cells. Nanoparticle films are generally made by screen printing a paste of titania nanocrystals and then sintering the particles together at 450-500°C in a conveyor belt furnace.

From Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conveyor_belt_furnace

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Friday, August 12, 2011

What is a Conveyor Belt Furnace?


conveyor belt furnace is a furnace that uses a conveyor or belt to carry process parts or materials through the primary heating chamber for rapid thermal processing. It is designed for fast drying and curing of products and is nowadays widely used in the firing process of thick film and metallization processes of solar cell manufacturing. Other names for conveyor belt furnace include metallization furnace, belt furnace, atmosphere furnace, infrared furnace and fast fire furnace, to just list a few.
Normally a conveyor furnace adopts tunnel structure and is composed of multiple controlled zones which include, but not limited to, preheating zone, binder burn out zone, heating zone, firing zone and cooling zone. A conveyor furnace also features fast thermal responses, uniform and stable temperature distribution; it can heat treated parts to 1050 deg. C. (may vary for different model). Belt speed of a conveyor furnace can be up to 6000mm/min. Products are heated efficiently by infrared radiation (it can also be ceramic heaters or IR lamps) and are dried and fired after passing through the controlled zones, followed by rapid cooling.[1]

For more info on belt furnaces please go to www.beltfurnaces.com



Tuesday, August 9, 2011

CdTe PV panel maker First Solar to supply Sempra's 150MW Nevada plant expansion for PG&E


This post is from: http://www.semiconductor-today.com/news_items/2011/AUG/FIRSTSOLAR_040811.html

Pacific Gas and Electric Company of San Francisco, CA, USA (a subsidiary of PG&E Corp) and Sempra Generation (a subsidiary of San Diego-based Sempra Energy) have entered into a 25-year contract for 150MW of renewable power from an expansion of Sempra Generation's Copper Mountain Solar complex in Boulder City, NV. 
First Solar Inc of Tempe, AZ, USA will provide the ground-mounted cadmium telluride (CdTe) thin-film photovoltaic (PV) panels and serve as the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractor for the project.
Construction on the 1100-acre solar plant should begin in early 2012. The first 92MW of panels at Copper Mountain Solar 2 should be installed by January 2013, with the remaining 58MW due for completion by 2015. Under the terms of the contract, PG&E has the option to accelerate the commercial operation date of the second phase. When fully developed, Copper Mountain Solar 2 will produce enough electricity to power about 45,000 homes.
Copper Mountain Solar 2 is a step in Sempra’s plan to construct 1000MW of additional renewable capacity by 2015, says its president & CEO Jeffrey W. Martin. The plant is Sempra’s third and largest solar project in Nevada, and will supply power to California consumers. The power supply contract between PG&E and Sempra is subject to approval by the California Public Utilities Commission.
“The combination of First Solar’s advanced thin-film PV modules with our industry-leading EPC capabilities enables us to rapidly deploy utility-scale solutions like Copper Mountain Solar 2, bringing down the cost of renewable energy,” says Jim Lamon, First Solar's senior VP of EPC, operations & maintenance.
Sempra Generation and First Solar have previously teamed-up on the construction of two other large-scale solar projects in Nevada, including Copper Mountain Solar 1. The 48MW installation was completed in late 2010 and is currently the largest photovoltaic solar power plant in the USA. PG&E is currently delivering the power produced at the plant to its customers.

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Tuesday, August 2, 2011

Competitive Market Advantages for DSSC Manufacturing

  • The production of DSSCs incur relatively low cost: new patented technologies will result in less than $1.5 ppw for module manufacturing cost at initial production, dropping to about half this figure ($0.7 ppw) on the basis of economy of scale from multiple plants as opposed to more than $3 ppw today.

  • DSSCs have an additional advantage in that they are particularly suited to warmer climates. When hot, crystalline silicon modules lose efficiency far more than do dye cells.

  • DSSCs also work well in a wide range of lighting conditions and orientation, and they are less sensitive to partial shadowing and low-level illumination compared to silicon.



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  • Monday, August 1, 2011

    Furnace for Firing Operation in Silicon Solar Cell Manufacturing

    The HSH series furnace is a specially designed infrared furnace that caters to the needs of the photovoltaic metallization firing requirements. The heating in this furnace is achieved with the help of short wave infrared lamp heaters. The fast response of the IR lamps allow for quick heating. The furnace is rated at 1000 oC and can operate very well in the 750-800 oC range required for sintering of front contact metallization. The belt width comes in various standard sizes, including, 250mm, 300mm and 380mm to match with the requirements of the wafer size. Cooling can be achieved through forced air, as well as, water per requirement. The presence of a muffle helps to control the atmosphere within the furnace, as well as, prevent the external atmosphere from entering. In short, the muffle design helps maintain a cleaner furnace atmosphere. As a standard feature, this furnace is equipped with a steel brush and helps in the cleaning process of the conveyor belt. Ultrasonic belt cleaning is available as an extra option as well.

    A microprocessor based PID controller controls the furnace. Type K thermo-couples are used for determining the zone temperatures. Controls are located on the right hand side and can be viewed from the entrance of the furnace. The central processing unit (CPU) is mounted under the exit table. The furnace is controlled by a microprocessor based controller system and the CPU is loaded with a Windows operating system that allows for easy computing. The computer system comes with a pre-installed program for controlling the Confurnace parameters including the belt speed and the zone temperatures. Temperature profiles can be stored and retrieved for future purposes. Thermocouple ports are located at the entrance table for connecting the profiling thermocouple directly to the microprocessor. This feature allows the monitoring and recording of the actual temperature experienced by the part. Software is also provided with the computer to capture, display, printout and store the furnace profile. The furnace is equipped with a redundant overheat safety protection system which incorporates an additional type “K” thermocouple in the center of each controlled zone and the multi-loop alarm.

    For more information and specifications go to http://www.beltfurnaces.com/HSHsolar.html

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    Thursday, July 28, 2011

    Improving Energy Conversion Efficiency for Solar Cells

    This is an excerpt from "Study of the Effect of the Firing Process to the Energy Conversion Efficiency of Solar Cells" by KIC and Top Solar...


    Over the last few years, solar cell manufacturers have strived to improve energy conversion efficiency at a lower cost. Optimizing the metal electrodes firing process in furnaces is a common way to achieve this goal. This was overlooked in the past. Most of the time, such thermal process work was done mainly by experienced engineers without much in-depth engineering study and development.



    In summary, the accurate measurment of the cell profiles and optimization of the furnace’s temperature settings during production play an important role in process control. Frequent tracking on the furnace’s temperature, collecting and analyzing measurement data can help optimize the firing process and find a suitable process window. The end result is the production of higher efficiency cells, stable production quality and reduced production cost.

    To read the entire whitepaper go to http://www.beltfurnaces.com/KIC_Topsolar.html

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    Monday, July 25, 2011

    Wafers: Thermal Process Development

    This is an excerpt from..

    A Practical Guide for Improving Crystalline Solar Cell Efficiencies through
    Optimization of the Firing Process

    by Bjorn Dahle, KIC

    As opposed to more mature industries such as semiconductor and electronics assembly, the solar industry currently does not have a clear understanding of the ideal wafer profile or process window for each unique application (wafer, silver paste, furnace and other variables). There may be numerous wafer properties and variables in the processes upstream from the metallization furnace that affect the ideal wafer profile. Therefore, each manufacturer must perform a design of experiment (DOE) to identify the best wafer profile or range of profiles (Process Window). Such a DOE typically involves changing the wafer profile while the cell efficiency, fill factor and other quality measurements are measured. The profile is changed numerous times (on identical wafers that have been processed up to the firing furnace) in a “trial and error” approach until the responsible engineer is satisfied with the cell efficiency.

    The wafer profile itself is a result of the furnace settings and how the thermodynamic properties of the furnace heat and cool the wafer. A modern metallization (firing) furnace can be set up using tens of millions of alternative recipes (combination of zone temperatures and conveyor speed), making the DOE both difficult and time consuming. Even worse, when changing one profile parameter, e.g. the peak temperature, all the other parameters such as time above 500°C, time above 600°C, ramp rate, etc. also change. As a result, it becomes difficult to determine what caused the improvement in the cell efficiency.

    Finally, the traditional methods to record the wafer profile suffer from inaccurate and non-repeatable measurements. This problem is caused by the method used to attach the thermocouples (TC) to the wafer. It is not uncommon to get a 50°C difference in peak temperature readings from one profile to the next when taken only minutes later. Clearly, a new TC attach method is required before any purposeful DOE can take place.

    For more info go to www.kicthermal.com and www.beltfurnaces.com

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    Thursday, July 21, 2011

    Furnace for Thick Film Application


    HSK series belt furnaces serve diverse industries such as microelectronics packaging, which include IC, SMT, HIC, MCM and MEMS applications, and advanced materials, including thick film, electronic component, photovoltaic cells, ceramics and metals processing applications. 

    The HSK series fast fire furnace heats from ambient to 1050°C in approximately 40 minutes and is designed to sustain continuous on/off heating and cooling cycles resulting from alternating periods of production and non-use.  It features an ultra-clean low-mass refractory heating chamber equipped with FEC (Fully Enclosed Coil) heaters formed into ceramic insulation panels.  With the use of advanced insulation materials, lower thermal capacity enables the furnace to warm up and cool down very quickly and lose less heat to the environment. 

    The furnace is monitored by type “K” thermocouples in the center of each heated zone.  Each temperature zone is control-led by its own SHIMADAN SR94 single loop intelligent temperature controller with full auto-tuning PID.  The single wave, zero trigger method enables precise and stable temperature control, avoiding damages to the peripheral equipment while prolonging the life of controlling devices at the same time. 

    The furnace belt is balanced spiral Nichrome V mesh.  The belt speed is programmable in IPM with readout right on the monitor and deviation from set point alarm is also programmable.  Stepless speed regulation is controlled by FUJI frequency converter and is digitally displayed. 

    The furnace is equipped with entrance/exit curtains and an exhauster to improve drying/firing temperature stability, as well as, to keep the firing chamber clean.  The 200mm (8”) diameter air powered Venturi exhauster supports full chamber width exhausting.  There are removable condensate collection traps and the exhaust flow can be adjusted by the flow meter.  

    For more info or to get a quote please go to http://www.beltfurnaces.com

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    Wednesday, July 20, 2011

    Firing in the Thick Film Process


    After the paste is screened onto the substrate, it is commissioned to level for 5 to 15 minutes at room temperature, followed by oven drying at 100°C to 150°C for another 10 to 15 minutes.  Firing takes place in continuous furnaces.     

    Air-fired and nitrogen-fired systems are more commonly used.  In the initial firing phase (200°C to 500°C), organic resins are burned off in the burnout zone.  In air-fired systems, the polymer decomposes by simple oxidation.  The byproducts of the burnout zone are primarily CO2 and H2O, as well as, lightweight fly ash.  In the nitrogen-fired system, cleavage of the polymer at the ethyl groups and dehydrogenation take place.  This produces a complex mixture of polymers, monomers, and gases that burn off as gases, vapors, and droplets.     


    As the climate rises to peak firing temperature, metal particles begin to sinter, glass frits begin to soften and flow, and a film is gradually formed.  The material is held at peak temperature for 10 minutes then cooled down.  After it cools down, pastes are formed firmly onto the substrate.  The entire cycle lasts for about 30 to 60 minutes.  



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    Tuesday, July 19, 2011

    Printing in the Thick Film Process


    The selective deposition of thick-film materials onto a substrate essentially depends on forcing ink through a stencil, screen, or mask mounted under tension on a metal frame. Stainless steel mesh screens are the most commonly used for hybrid thick-film printing while etched metal masks are sometimes used for high precision purpose.

    The circuit pattern is formed photographically on the mesh using ultraviolet (UV)-sensitive filler emulsion. The appropriated paste to be printed is placed on one side of the screen. A polyurethane squeegee is used to force the paste through the open meshes. The pressure applied to the squeegee must be sufficient to ensure complete filling of each aperture before the squeegee edge passes over the aperture, but not high enough to cause spreading of the paste between the screen and the substrate. 

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    Monday, July 18, 2011

    Thick Film Hybrids


    Thick-film hybrids are generally used to substitute, interface or interconnect ICs. Hybrid constructions can be either single layer or multilayer. Single-layer circuits are conductor traces printed and fired onto a substrate with the utilization of crossover and pads of insulating dielectric. Three to five layers are common in multi-layer circuit. Connections between different layers are achieved by vias.

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    Friday, July 15, 2011

    Thick Film Pastes


    Thick film technology is traditionally an additive process, that is the various components are produced on the substrate by applying ‘pastes’ (or ‘inks’) and are added sequentially to produce the required conductor patterns and resistor values.  Different formulations of paste are used to produce conductors, resistors and dielectrics (for crossovers or, occasionally, capacitors). 

    Each paste contains:

    - A binder, a glassy frit
    - The carrier, organic solvent systems and plasticizers
    - The materials to be deposited, typically pure metals, alloys, and metal oxides

    The metal particles are bound together and to the substrate by the glassy phase, and this is particularly important at the substrate-ink interface. Fired surfaces are usually not even or homogeneous on a micro scale, a fact which can lead to problems when wire bonding.

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