Inventing The
Xerox
Co-Extrusion Printing
High-Speed, Ultraprecise Printing of Structures for More Efficient Energy Devices
Co-extrusion printing is a novel technology developed to produce highly structured thick films used in solar cells and batteries. Thick films produced by co-extrusion printing improve device performance through the more precise use of active materials and can be run at speeds compatible with high-volume manufacturing for solar and batteries. The printheads, inks and processes required for co-extrusion printing have been successfully developed and tested and have already been delivered to a leading solar cell manufacturer for use in production.
The Technology
Traditionally, the efficiency of solar cells’ energy production has been limited by the electric wires that crisscross their surface. Although necessary for transmitting electric current through the cells, these wires also cast small shadows that reduce the amount of sunlight that can reach the cell for conversion into electricity. Co-extrusion printing addresses this limitation by producing exceptionally narrow wire gridlines that cast smaller shadows and allow more sunlight to reach the solar cell.
Specifically, the printhead on a co-extrusion printer is made up of many minute channels and nozzles that deposit a paste onto a substrate. The paste is made up of a combination of the materials needed to produce the gridlines for solar cells or electrodes for batteries. Co-extrusion printing is able to deposit single materials at a width that is smaller than the nozzle opening from which they were extruded. This enables the creation of solar cell or lithium-ion battery elements with a width of just 10–100 micrometers.
The Benefits
- Increased efficiency: Lithium-ion battery electrodes produced using co-extrusion printing are up to 20–30 percent more energy dense than typical lithium-ion batteries, resulting in higher storage capacity and leading to 20–30 percent longer ranges for electric vehicles.
- Increased efficiency: Finer wire gridlines on solar cells allow each cell to capture more sunlight and contribute to higher system efficiency and electricity production without increasing the number of cells.
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