First of all, silver is a unique metal with high thermal and electrical conductivity, which is 5.7% higher than copper. Compared with other metals, silver also has a high reflectance, which makes it very valuable in solar cells. Silver is an important part of the solar cell sheet, acting as a conductor, collecting electrons to generate an electric current, which is transmitted out of the solar cell sheet for use.
In short, without the silver used in the solar panels, cable solar wouldn't be as efficient at converting sunlight into electricity. So how does silver get used in solar panels?
I don't know if you've ever seen a solar panel up close, but if you have, you should notice the thin little wires (white wires) that run through the solar panels. A typical solar cell sheet has thin wires on the front (single crystal and polycrystalline silicon solar cells), which are actually screen printed. The production process is similar to the Logo on white T. In addition to sewing and pasting, another is screen printing. This method is not only fast, but also uniform in thickness. As shown in the image below, the thicker white lines are called grid lines, and the thin lines inside are silver lines.
Because the wires of solar cells are so thin, it's important to reduce resistance and improve the efficiency of solar panels, and silver wires play an important role. Silver is a paste before use, which is also convenient for screen printing. The amount of silver used is also very small. Maybe 60 solar cells contain only 8g of silver. This may also be one of the important factors that makes solar cells expensive when they are first produced.
However, in order to reduce costs, some manufacturers will reduce the silver content and brush the silver thinner on the premise of ensuring normal use. Some manufacturers avoid silver wires by placing positive and negative electrodes on the back of solar panels (Sunpower solar panels). In conclusion, it is also possible not to use silver on the solar panel. It is good to choose the right cell. I believe that the solar photovoltaic module innovation will be more and more.