A printing plate

Abstract

The utility model discloses a printing plate, printing plate (1) includes printing layer, the printing layer includes the organic film printing layer (4) and metal printing layer (5) who sets up in the direction of thickness lamination, the organic film printing layer (4) is equipped with a plurality of grid line openings (40), a plurality of grid line openings (40) are parallel and interval arrangement, the printing layer still includes reinforcing layer (6), reinforcing layer (6) lamination sets up in the organic film printing layer (4) side away from metal printing layer (5), form a plurality of second openings (60) on reinforcing layer (6), a plurality of second openings (60) with a plurality of grid line openings (40) one to one correspondence, and the width of second opening (60) is not less than the width of grid line opening (40), so that grid line opening (40) does not exceed corresponding second opening.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This utility model relates to the field of solar cell technology, specifically to a printing plate. Background Technology

[0002] Currently, the main methods for fabricating metal grid electrodes for solar cells are screen printing and metal film printing. However, these two types of printing plates often suffer from problems such as easy deformation and short lifespan.

[0003] Therefore, how to design and optimize the structure of metal printing plates to improve their lifespan and reduce deformation is a problem that urgently needs to be solved in this field. Utility Model Content

[0004] This utility model aims to solve one of the technical problems in related technologies to a certain extent. To this end, this utility model provides a printing plate.

[0005] To achieve the above objectives, this utility model discloses a printing plate, which includes a printing layer comprising an organic film printing layer and a metal printing layer stacked along the thickness direction. The organic film printing layer has multiple grid line openings, which are parallel and spaced apart. The printing layer also includes a reinforcing layer, which is stacked on the side of the organic film printing layer opposite to the metal printing layer. The reinforcing layer has multiple second openings, which correspond one-to-one with the grid line openings. The width of each second opening is not less than the width of the grid line opening, so that the grid line opening does not exceed the corresponding second opening.

[0006] Furthermore, the reinforcing layer includes a reinforcing edge region and a reinforcing printing region, the reinforcing edge region being disposed around the reinforcing printing region, and the second opening being formed in the reinforcing printing region.

[0007] Furthermore, at least one of the gate line openings includes multiple main openings and multiple pad openings. The multiple main openings are spaced apart along the length direction of the gate line opening. Any two adjacent main openings on the gate line opening are connected by the pad opening. The opening width of the pad opening is greater than the opening width of the main opening, and the opening length of the main opening is greater than the opening length of the pad opening.

[0008] Furthermore, at least one of the second openings includes a plurality of main protection openings and a plurality of pad protection openings, wherein the plurality of main protection openings correspond one-to-one with the plurality of main openings, and the plurality of pad protection openings correspond one-to-one with the plurality of pad openings. The opening width of the pad protection opening is greater than the opening width of the main protection opening, and the opening length of the main protection opening is greater than the opening length of the pad protection opening.

[0009] Furthermore, the metal printing layer includes a plurality of spaced-apart weft-connecting portions and a plurality of spaced-apart warp-connecting portions, with the plurality of weft-connecting portions and the plurality of warp-connecting portions intersecting to form a plurality of material through-holes.

[0010] Furthermore, the metal printing layer includes a metal film layer, which has multiple metal openings, and the multiple metal openings correspond one-to-one with the multiple gate line openings.

[0011] Furthermore, the difference in width between the second opening and the gate opening is not less than 1 mm.

[0012] Furthermore, the thickness of the reinforcing layer is between 5 μm and 100 μm, and the dimension of the reinforcing layer between adjacent second openings along the width direction of the gate opening is not less than 0.5 mm.

[0013] Furthermore, the material of the reinforcing layer is the same as the material of the organic film printing layer.

[0014] Furthermore, the printing plate also includes an outer frame and a mesh, and the organic film printing layer, the metal printing layer and the reinforcing layer are fixed to the outer frame by the mesh with a set tension.

[0015] The printing plate of this application incorporates a reinforcing layer structure, which prevents the organic film printing layer from directly contacting the substrate during printing. This reduces contamination from dirt, particles, and other pollutants on the substrate surface, thus improving the lifespan of the printing plate. Simultaneously, the reinforcing layer structure features multiple second openings corresponding to the grid line openings. This facilitates the transmission of printing paste and, moreover, the reinforcing layer and the second openings provide buffering and support for the grid line openings of the upper organic film. Under greater printing pressure, this enhances the recovery ability of the openings after deformation, reducing the deformation of the opening morphology after long-term use.

[0016] These features and advantages of this utility model will be disclosed in detail in the following specific embodiments and accompanying drawings. The preferred embodiments or means of this utility model will be shown in detail in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, but are not intended to limit the technical solutions of this utility model. In addition, each of these features, elements and components appearing in the following text and drawings is multiple and is labeled with different symbols or numbers for convenience, but all represent parts with the same or similar structure or function. Attached Figure Description

[0017] The present invention will be further described below with reference to the accompanying drawings:

[0018] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram illustrating one embodiment of a printing plate provided in this application;

[0019] Figure 2This is a cross-sectional schematic diagram of an embodiment of a printing plate provided in this application;

[0020] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram illustrating one embodiment of a printing plate provided in this application.

[0021] Explanation of reference numerals in the attached figures

[0022] 1: Printing plate; 2: Outer frame; 3: Mesh fabric; 4: Organic film printing layer; 5: Metal printing layer; 6: Reinforcing layer; 50: Metal opening; 5a: Metal mesh layer; 5b: Metal film layer; 40: Grid line opening; 60: Second opening; 610: Reinforced edge area; 401: Main opening; 402: Pad opening; 403: End opening; 601: Main protection opening; 602: Pad protection opening; 603: End protection opening. Detailed Implementation

[0023] The embodiments of this utility model are described in detail below. Examples of these embodiments are shown in the accompanying drawings, wherein the same or similar reference numerals denote the same or similar elements or elements having the same or similar functions throughout. The embodiments described are intended to explain this utility model and should not be construed as limiting it.

[0024] The terms "an embodiment," "example," or "example" used in this specification refer to a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment itself that may be included in at least one embodiment disclosed in this application. The phrase "in an embodiment" appearing in various places throughout the specification does not necessarily refer to the same embodiment.

[0025] The inventors of this application have discovered that screen printing technology is currently widely used in the printing process of solar cell main grids. The printing plate used to print the main grid electrodes is typically composed of a template with patterned openings. The paste is transferred to the surface of the solar cell through these patterned areas to form the electrode structure. The printing plates used in solar cell main grid printing can be mainly divided into two structures: one is a mesh screen structure, composed of a composite of polyester mesh materials and a photosensitive organic film. Patterned openings are formed on the organic film through photolithography to achieve selective transfer of the conductive paste; the other is a metal printing plate structure, composed of a metal film and an organic film laminated together. The metal film provides good rigidity and durability, while the organic film is used to form the patterned openings, combining high resolution and printability. These two types of printing plates are widely used in the current photovoltaic cell screen printing process and are suitable for different process scenarios with varying precision and cost requirements.

[0026] However, in actual production, both of these structures face a core defect: fine impurity particles, such as silicon chips, coating dust particles, and transmission line impurity particles, easily remain on the silicon wafer surface. These particles can easily cause localized stress concentrations during printing. When the stress exceeds the tolerance limit of the organic film, it may be directly punctured. Even more seriously, in metal printing plates, these impurities may even penetrate the composite structure of the organic and metal films, leading to problems such as pattern opening damage, screen printing ink leakage, and pattern edge diffusion. This structural damage is often irreversible, severely affecting the lifespan of the screen and printing stability, thereby increasing production costs and reducing yield.

[0027] Although metal printing plates, due to their metal substrate, offer superior puncture resistance compared to traditional mesh structures, mitigating the risk of damage from particles to some extent, they are still susceptible to puncture under conditions such as sharp particles, localized high pressure, or prolonged printing, because the graphic areas still rely on a relatively thin organic film layer for precise openings. Therefore, current main grid printing plates still suffer from insufficient reliability in complex production environments, and there is still room for further optimization in the plate structure, especially in applications that require both high precision and long lifespan.

[0028] To address the aforementioned problems, this application discloses a printing plate, such as... Figure 1 and Figure 3 As shown, the printing plate includes a printing layer, which includes an organic film printing layer 4 and a metal printing layer 5 stacked along the thickness direction. The organic film printing layer 4 has multiple grid line openings 40, which are parallel and spaced apart. The printing layer also includes a reinforcing layer 6, which is stacked on the side of the organic film printing layer 4 away from the metal printing layer 5. The reinforcing layer 6 has multiple second openings 60, which correspond one-to-one with the multiple grid line openings 40. The width of the second opening 60 is not less than the width of the grid line opening 40, so that the grid line opening 40 does not exceed the corresponding second opening 60.

[0029] In some printing processes, when tiny impurities are present on the surface of the substrate, the squeegee applies printing pressure to the printing plate, causing the plate to bend towards the substrate surface. In this case, the organic film at the bending point experiences greater deformation tension and is more easily penetrated by particles, thus damaging the screen structure. More ink may leak down at the penetrated or cracked points of the organic film, leading to problems such as image distortion, affecting the screen's lifespan and printing quality. The printing plate of this application incorporates a reinforcing layer 6, which prevents the organic film printing layer 4 from directly contacting the substrate during printing. This reduces contamination from dirt, particles, and other pollutants on the substrate surface, thus damaging the organic film printing layer 4 and improving the printing plate's lifespan.

[0030] Furthermore, in traditional printing plates, the grid openings 40 at the organic film layer are fully open, lacking internal support or buffering design. Since the organic film is a flexible organic film material, it is prone to localized plastic deformation under the pressure of the squeegee during printing. After the pressure is removed, the organic film layer lacks resilience, resulting in poor deformation recovery of the grid openings 40. The reinforcing structure of this application is located on the lower surface of the organic film layer. The reinforcing layer 6 has multiple second openings 60 corresponding to the grid openings 40. This facilitates the transmission of printing paste and, simultaneously, provides buffering and support for the grid openings 40 of the upper organic film. Under greater printing pressure, this improves the recovery ability after opening deformation and reduces opening morphology deformation after long-term use.

[0031] This application does not specifically limit the area of ​​the reinforcing layer 6; it only needs to isolate the organic film printing layer 4 from the substrate to be printed. For example, the reinforcing layer 6 can be a strip-shaped reinforcing layer, with the reinforcing layers 6 between adjacent second openings 60 forming reinforcing bands that can elevate and support the printing plate; or, for example, the reinforcing layer 6 is a single functional film with the same area as the organic film printing layer 4. In some embodiments, such as... Figure 3 As shown, the reinforcing layer 6 includes a reinforcing edge region 610 and a reinforcing printing region. The reinforcing edge region 610 is disposed around the reinforcing printing region, and a second opening 60 is formed in the reinforcing printing region. The reinforcing edge region 610 can further improve the deformation recovery capability of the reinforcing layer 6, and although the edge region has no opening, it can completely wrap and isolate the edge of the organic film printing layer 4, thereby improving the protection capability.

[0032] This application does not impose any special limitations on the specific shape of the reinforcing layer 6 on the printed surface, as long as it satisfies the requirement that a second opening 60 is provided at the position corresponding to the gate line opening 40. For example, partial windows can be provided in areas where the second opening 60 is not provided to alleviate stress concentration. Another example is... Figure 3 As shown, a strip-shaped reinforcing layer 6 is provided to surround the second opening 60 to improve deformation recovery capability, so as to space the organic film printing layer 4 and the printing substrate in the stacking direction.

[0033] This application does not impose special limitations on how the reinforcement layer 6 is used. For example, it can be used as a printing plate for printing sub-grid lines, or as a printing plate for printing main grid lines. Preferably, the printing plate in this application is used as a main grid printing plate, such as... Figure 3As shown, at least one gate opening 40 includes a plurality of main openings 401 and a plurality of pad openings 402. The plurality of main openings 401 are spaced apart along the length direction of the gate opening 40. Any two adjacent main openings 401 on the gate opening 40 are connected by a pad opening 402. The opening width of the pad opening 402 is greater than the opening width of the main opening 401, and the opening length of the main opening 401 is greater than the opening length of the pad opening 402. In some embodiments, the gate opening 40 further includes end openings 403 located at both ends. The end openings 403 are harpoon-shaped and communicate with the main openings 401.

[0034] For the aforementioned main grid printing plate, the second opening 60 of this application is configured around the shape of the aforementioned grid line opening 40, such as... Figure 3 As shown, at least one second opening 60 includes a plurality of main protection openings 601 and a plurality of pad protection openings 602. The plurality of main protection openings 601 correspond one-to-one with the plurality of main openings 401, and the plurality of pad protection openings 602 correspond one-to-one with the plurality of pad openings 402. The opening width of the pad protection opening 602 is greater than the opening width of the main protection opening 601, and the opening length of the main protection opening 601 is greater than the opening length of the pad protection opening 602. In some embodiments, the second opening 60 further includes end protection openings 603 located at both ends. The end protection openings 603 surround the end openings 403 and communicate with the main protection openings 601.

[0035] This application does not specifically limit the metal printing layer 5; it can be a metal mesh layer 5a or a metal film layer 5b. In some embodiments, such as Figure 2 As shown, the metal printing layer 5 includes a plurality of spaced-apart weft-direction connecting portions and a plurality of spaced-apart warp-direction connecting portions, which intersect to form a plurality of material through-holes. In other embodiments, such as Figure 1 As shown, the metal printing layer 5 includes a metal film layer 5b, which has multiple metal openings 50, and the multiple metal openings 50 correspond one-to-one with the multiple gate line openings 40.

[0036] A reinforcing layer 6 is introduced in the corresponding area between the grid openings 40. This reinforcing layer 6 provides necessary support and buffering for the pattern area without affecting ink transmission. Preferably, the width difference between the second opening 60 and the grid opening 40 is not less than 1 mm, the thickness of the reinforcing layer 6 is between 5 μm and 100 μm, and the dimension of the reinforcing layer 6 between adjacent second openings 60 along the width direction of the grid opening is not less than 0.5 mm. The thickness of the reinforcing layer 6, between 5 and 100 μm, effectively enhances compressive strength while avoiding ink obstruction due to excessive thickness. The width difference between the second opening 60 and the grid opening 40 is not less than 1 mm to ensure that the boundary clarity of the main grid pattern is not interfered with during printing, while reducing the risk of ink diffusion. The minimum width of the reinforcing structure body is not less than 0.5 mm to provide sufficient stress area and support capacity. The material of the reinforcing layer 6 is the same as that of the organic film printing layer 4, improving the interfacial fit between the reinforcing layer 6 and the organic film printing layer 4.

[0037] In some embodiments, the printing plate further includes an outer frame 2 and a mesh 3, wherein the organic film printing layer 4, the metal printing layer 5, and the reinforcing layer 6 are fixed to the outer frame 2 by the mesh 3 to a set tension.

[0038] The above are merely specific embodiments of this utility model, but the scope of protection of this utility model is not limited thereto. Those skilled in the art should understand that this utility model includes, but is not limited to, the contents described in the accompanying drawings and the specific embodiments above. Any modifications that do not depart from the functional and structural principles of this utility model will be included within the scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A printing plate, the printing plate (1) comprising a printing layer, the printing layer comprising an organic film printing layer (4) and a metal printing layer (5) stacked along the thickness direction, the organic film printing layer (4) having a plurality of grid line openings (40), the plurality of grid line openings (40) being parallel and spaced apart, characterized in that, The printed layer further includes a reinforcing layer (6), which is stacked on the side of the organic film printed layer (4) away from the metal printed layer (5). A plurality of second openings (60) are formed on the reinforcing layer (6), and the plurality of second openings (60) correspond one-to-one with the plurality of gate line openings (40). The width of the second opening (60) is not less than the width of the gate line opening (40), so that the gate line opening (40) does not exceed the corresponding second opening.

2. The printing plate according to claim 1, characterized in that, The reinforcing layer (6) includes a reinforcing edge region (610) and a reinforcing printing region, the reinforcing edge region (610) being disposed around the reinforcing printing region, and the second opening (60) being formed in the reinforcing printing region.

3. The printing plate according to claim 2, characterized in that, At least one of the gate openings (40) includes a plurality of main openings (401) and a plurality of pad openings (402). The plurality of main openings (401) are spaced apart along the length direction of the gate opening. Any two adjacent main openings (401) on the gate opening (40) are connected by the pad openings (402). The opening width of the pad opening (402) is greater than the opening width of the main opening (401), and the opening length of the main opening (401) is greater than the opening length of the pad opening (402).

4. The printing plate according to claim 3, characterized in that, At least one of the second openings (60) includes a plurality of main protection openings (601) and a plurality of pad protection openings (602), wherein the plurality of main protection openings (601) correspond one-to-one with the plurality of main openings (401), and the plurality of pad protection openings (602) correspond one-to-one with the plurality of pad openings (402). The opening width of the pad protection opening (602) is greater than the opening width of the main protection opening (601), and the opening length of the main protection opening (601) is greater than the opening length of the pad protection opening (602).

5. The printing plate according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that, The metal printing layer (5) includes a plurality of weft connecting parts and a plurality of warp connecting parts spaced apart, and the plurality of weft connecting parts and the plurality of warp connecting parts intersect each other to form a plurality of material through holes.

6. The printing plate according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that, The metal printing layer (5) includes a metal film layer, which has multiple metal openings, and the multiple metal openings correspond one-to-one with the multiple gate line openings.

7. The printing plate according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that, The difference in width between the second opening and the gate opening is not less than 1 mm.

8. The printing plate according to claim 7, characterized in that, The thickness of the reinforcement layer is between 5 μm and 100 μm, and the dimension of the reinforcement layer between adjacent second openings along the width direction of the gate opening is not less than 0.5 mm.

9. The printing plate according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that, The material of the reinforcing layer is the same as the material of the organic film printing layer.

10. The printing plate according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that, The printing plate also includes an outer frame (2) and a mesh (3), and the organic film printing layer (4), the metal printing layer (5) and the reinforcing layer (6) are fixed to the outer frame (2) by the mesh (3) with a set tension.

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