The 18 micro-wires are robotically positioned in parallel and held in place by a transparent foil

in an over/under pattern. This foil-wire assembly (FWA) forms the electrical conductor, designed

with surgical precision, to interconnect the solar cells and eliminate the need of busbars.

The solar cells are linked robotically with the FWA to form a cell string, eliminating the busbar to cell soldering process. The FWA interconnects the front side of a cell to the back side of the next cell, ensuring the proper connection from cell to cell.

In order to protect the cell matrix from environmental influences, the individual layers are bonded together by vacuum pressure and heat, to form an ultra durable solar laminate. This lamination process also forms the electrical connections between the wires and the cell.

The SmartWire to cell connection points are bonded at a lower temperature than the busbar soldering process. As a result, SWT induces less thermo-mechanical stress on the solar cell, significantly reducing the cell brittleness associated in busbar technology.

The superior efficiency of SWT is driven by 18 micro-wires that form a dense grid of up to 2,660 contact points on the solar cell. This structure allows electrons to travel a shorter distance in order to be collected, thus reducing resistive losses.

The lower resistance enables the extraction of more power from each individual finger, thereby increasing the power density when compared to traditional busbar panels.

The round shape of the micro-wire introduces a light trapping effect which reduces the shading by 25% compared to busbar technology.

Micro-cracks have a minimum effect on modules with SmartWire, since the FWA acts as a protective layer for the solar cell with the dense grid of up to 2,660 contact points. Even a

micro-cracked cell remains contacted, maintaining the energy collection at high levels.