Inkjet-printed MEM relays for active solar cell routing

We have developed a low resistance, high power printed relay for active solar bypass and switching applications. These relays exhibit the lowest on-state resistance for a printed MEMS switch (lowest 2.7Ω, with 3–5Ω typical) and have high current carrying capabilities (>100mA per contact). These characteristics make them particularly attractive for applications necessitating the ability to pass high currents. We have exploited these characteristics to demonstrate adaptive bypassing of shaded silicon solar cells in a string, thus preventing shaded cells from limiting string efficiency. The ability to print these relays makes them particularly attractive for direct module level integration with solar cells.