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Substitution of lead oxide in low-melting glasses, e.g., for application in silver metallization pastes, is a current research goal. This work is focused on the investigation of silver diffusion in alkali zinc borate glasses (X2O-ZnO-B2O3, X = Li, Na, K, Rb). In addition, the redox state of silver (Ag) and thus the type of diffusing silver species were studied. For this purpose, a metallic silver coating was applied on glass cubes by means of sputtering. Heat treatment of the samples was performed close to the glass transition temperatures at 470 °C for 2 h under air and nitrogen atmosphere. Coating thickness was 1.8 µm after heat treatment, measured by a white light interferometer.
Silver diffusion profiles were measured by means of secondary neutral mass spectrometry. The silver diffusion coefficients are in the range of ~10-14 cm2/s and indicate no significant differences depending on the type of alkali ions in the glass. Dissolved Ag+-ions and [Agm]n+-clusters in the glasses were differentiated using fluorescence spectroscopy.
Precipitated metallic silver particles in the sodium containing glass were observed by means of transmission electron microcopy. Their mean particle diameter was ~6 nm.
Silber-Glas Wechselwirkungen spielen eine wichtige Rolle zum Beispiel in Glas-haltigen Silberpasten, die in der Photovoltaik oder Mikroelektronik verwendet werden. Um ein besseres Verständnis der Vorgänge zu erhalten, werden niedrig-schmelzende, bleifreie X2O ZnO B2O3 Gläser (X = Li, Na, K und Rb, Abk.: LZB, NZB, KZB and RZB) zur Untersuchung der Pasten verwendet.
Raman und Infrarot Spektroskopie zeigen, dass die Glasstruktur weitgehend vergleichbar ist, aber Unterschiede in der Bildung von Pentaboratgruppen in LZB und NZB oder Diboratgruppen in KZB und RZB auftreten. Die Anzahl an vierfach koordinierten Bor-Ionen (N4) sinkt mit zunehmendem Alkaliionenradius. Die Verringerung von N4 führt zu einer niedrigeren Glasübergangstemperatur in der Reihe LZB (472 °C) < NZB (465 °C) < KZB (460 °C) < RZB (449 °C).
Zur Herstellung der Pasten wurde kommerzielles Silber-Pulver mit 30 Vol.-% Glas und Organik gemischt. Das Sinterverhalten der gepressten Pulver wurde mittels Erhitzungsmikrospie untersucht. Der Sinterbeginn der Pasten ist vergleichbar und korrespondiert mit den geringen Unterschieden der Viskosität bei vergleichbarer Partikelgröße der Gläser. In den Ag-KZB- und Ag-RZB-Pasten ist die Schwindung durch die stärker einsetzende Kristallisation im Vergleich zu LZB und NZB verzögert.
Liquid phase sintering of glass bearing silver pastes used in photovoltaics and microelectronics is poorly understood. In particular, the role of different network modifiers acting in the glass component and the question of the most suitable atmospheric oxygen level during sintering are still under considerable debate. To tackle these issues, low-melting and lead-free X2O-ZnO-B2O3 glasses with X = Li, Na, K and Rb (LZB, NZB, KZB and RZB) were prepared. Infrared spectroscopy showed that the glass structure was similar to each other, while an increase of tetrahedrally coordinated boron with increasing field strength of the alkali was evident. In turn, the glass transition temperature (from differential thermal analysis) increased in the order: RZB (449 °C) < KZB (460 °C) < NZB (465 °C) < LZB (472 °C). Powders of each glass were mixed with organics to receive silver-glass-pastes containing 30 vol% glass and these were subjected to heating microscopy in air. Although similar onset temperatures of sintering were recorded for Ag-NZB and Ag-LZB glass pastes, and for Ag-RZB paste and KZB-Ag-paste, respectively, differences in the crystallization behavior and final densification were observed between the former and the latter group. These were translated in terms of differences in silver dissolution and reprecipitation among the two groups. Further, running the experiments in nitrogen gas showed that sintering of all pastes was considerably hampered. The slow-down of the sinter kinetics was found to be in line with the assumed lower oxidation and dissolution of silver ions into the glass-forming liquid.
Since decades electric contacts based on silver metallization pastes are key components of photovoltaics and advanced microelectronics. For the metallization of commercial Si solar cells, high conductive silver glass pastes are cost effectively applicated by screen printing. Nevertheless, silver pastes are still one of the most crucial and expensive none Si materials in solar cells. Ever shorter time to market as well as increasing demands on reduced Ag consumption and line width require the targeted development of silver-glass-pastes with increased sinter ability and electrical conductivity. As a main difficulty, however, the liquid phase sintering of silver glass pastes is poorly understood so far.
In the present study, the influence of different network modifier in alkali-zinc-borate paste glasses on liquid phase sintering of silver-glass-pastes was investigated. Low melting X2O-ZnO-B2O3 glasses with X = Na, Li and Rb (abbr. LZB, NZB, and RZB) were utilized to prepare silver-glass-composites containing 30 %Vol glass. Shrinkage behavior of the silver-glass-composites compared with that of pure silver and pure glass powder compacts was studied with heating microscopy. The powder compacts were uniaxially pressed and heated at 5 K/min to the glass softening temperature. Glass transformation temperature and viscosity of the glasses were respectively measured with dilatometry and rotational viscometry. The thermal behavior of the pure glasses was analyzed with thermal analysis. Additionally, the contact angle of glass on pure silver foil was determined by means of heating microscopy between room temperature and 830 °C.
Thermal analysis of the alkali-zinc-borate-glasses under study has shown transformation temperatures between 450 °C (RZB), 460 °C (LZB) and 465 °C (NZB). For all glasses crystallization was found to start approximately at about 550 °C. However, different peak areas hint on a different degree of crystallization. Conformingly, the sintering behavior, measured in terms of area shrinkage, significantly differed for the silver-pastes under study. For silver-pastes with NZB or LZB-glass, sintering starts at 464 °C for NZB Ag pastes and at 451 °C for LZB Ag pastes and ends at 597 °C for NZB Ag paste and at 594 °C for LZB Ag paste. The sintering of the RZB Ag paste proceeds between 426 °C and 703 °C. The final densification was retarded possibly due to crystallization or swelling. The low sinter onset at 426 °C seems to correlate with the good wetting behavior of the RZB glass. Thus, the lowest apparent contact angle between the just densified powder compact sintered at a silver substrate was found for this glass. Moreover, microstructure analyses of the various composites indicate differences in silver dissolution and reprecipitation.
Network modifier ions can decisively influence properties and structure of low melting alkali-zinc-borate glasses and thus cause complex effects on the liquid phase sintering of silver-glass metallization pastes. This effect was studied for X2O-ZnO-B2O3 (X = Li, Na, Rb) glasses for silver-glass metallization pastes. Viscosity and the glass transition temperature, Tg, were measured with rotational viscometry and dilatometry. Dried model pastes with 30 vol% LZB, NZB or RZB glass were prepared for sintering studies by means of heating microscopy measuring the silhouette area shrinkage of uniaxially pressed powder compacts during heating at 5 K/min. For comparison, the silhouette area shrinkage of pure glass and silver powder compacts were determined. Glass-silver wetting was investigated during heating of bulk glass cylinders placed on silver substrates. Glass RZB turned out to have the lowest viscosity among the glasses under study. Its glass transformation temperature, Tg, was found at 444 °C and it caused the lowest sintering onset for its glass and paste powder compacts. Slightly increased values of Tg were found for NZB and LZB (468 °C and 466 °C, respectively) and a slightly retarded sintering was found for both paste powder compacts. These results indicate that liquid phase sintering of silver-glass pastes under air atmosphere is mainly influenced by glass viscosity.
In many late-breaking research fields as in photovoltaics, microelectronics, nuclear waste glasses or at least mirror glasses silver diffusion in glasses is relevant to the issues of high-level functionality and recycling. The present study is focused on silver diffusion in innovative, low-melting alkali zinc borate glasses (X2O-ZnO-B2O3, X = Li, Na, K, Rb) potentially usable for silver metallization-pastes in solar cells. The glasses were coated with a thin metallic silver layer and heat treatments in air and nitrogen close to Tg at 470 °C for 2 h were performed. After heat treatment under air and nitrogen atmospheres the coating thickness, measured by a white light interferometer, was about 1.8 µm thick. Silver depth profiles determined by means of secondary neutral mass spectrometry (SNMS) indicate the fastest silver diffusion to a depth of 3.5 µm for Li2O-ZnO-B2O3 (LZB) glass. Nevertheless, the influence of the different alkali ions on the silver diffusion is small. The oxygen availability determines the silver diffusion into the glasses. The oxygen promotes the oxidation of the silver layer enabling Ag+ to diffuse into the glass and to precipitate as Ag0. Both species were detected by x-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS). The precipitated metallic silver particles in Na2O-ZnO-B2O3 (NZB) glass have a mean size of 5.9 nm ± 1.2 nm diameter, which was determined using transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Phase separation in zinc-rich and zinc-poor phases with a mean diameter of 75 nm ± 20 nm occurred in NZB glass after heat treatment. Ion diffusion of the glasses into the silver layer was suggested by EDX-line scans.
High conductive silver-glass-metallization-pastes are key components in photovoltaics and advanced microelectronics. However, the underlying mechanisms of liquid phase sintering as silver dissolution, diffusion and reprecipitation are poorly understood so far.
In the current work, the influence of different network modifier in alkali-zinc-borate paste-glasses on liquid phase sintering of silver-glass-composites was studied. Therefore, silver-glass-composites containing 30 vol% glass were prepared, using low melting X2O-ZnO-B2O3 glasses with X = Na, Li, and Rb (NZB, LZB, and RZB). Glass transition temperature, viscosity, glass-silver wetting, crystallization and sintering behavior was studied by means of thermal analysis, dilatometry, heating microscopy and microscopy.
Similar glass transition temperatures of 450 °C (RZB), 460 °C (LZB) and 465 °C (NZB) were found by means of thermal analysis for glasses under study. Also, all glasses have a similar crystallization onset at about 550 °C, even though exhibiting with a different degree of crystallization.
Despite these similarities, however, the sintering behavior, measured in terms of area shrinkage, significantly differs for the composites. This finding indicates a different degree of silver dissolution. Assuming that dissolved silver reduces the viscosity, this effect could explain why glass crystallization starts at lower temperature in the composites. For example, the crystallization peak of LZB at 629 °C measured for pure glass powder compacts was decreased to 586 °C for the composite. Confirmatively, microstructure analyses indicate different degrees of silver dissolution, as e.g. revealed by different amount of silver precipitates within the residual glass phase, and reprecipitation. Best silver dissolution appeared for the RZB glass. Nevertheless, the final densification of RZB was retarded probably due to swelling and crystallization.