Eurobond Adhesives, in partnership with Panacol Elosol Gmbh under a European sponsored project, have developed a cost effective, high performance electrically conductive adhesive suitable for use in the manufacture of concentrator photovoltaic (PV) systems. A concentrator PV system makes use of relatively inexpensive materials such as plastic lenses and metal housings to capture the solar energy shining on a fairly large area and then focusing that energy through the lens onto a smaller area, where the solar cell chip is located.
Elecolit 3653 is a single component silver filled, highly flexible solvent free conductive adhesive that is used to bond the solar cell chip to the PV module unit. The flexibility of the cured adhesive makes it ideally suited for applications which involve thermal shock. The product can be dispensed or processed with stamp or screen print technology and can be thermally cured in relatively short time frames. Stored under cool conditions at about 5ºC the product has a shelf life stability of ca. 6 months and when cured will withstand temperatures ranging from -40 to +180°C.
The solar modules are mounted in series to form a panel and panels are then mounted to produce a large PV array. The solar chip modules themselves are bonded to the glass carrier using Eurobond's Vitralit 7563 UV curing adhesive. Vitralit 7563 is both, flexible, elastic and resistant to high humidity environments. 7563 will tolerate different rates of thermal expansion between substrates making it ideal for bonding different material combinations. Vitralit 7563 is also acid-free and does not contain any corrosive or dangerous substances, making it very user and eco-friendly.