Manufacturing: Equipment & Materials
Kun Ho Ahn, Roth & Rau AG
Pursuing grid parity with photovoltaic technology has steadily pushed down the cost of ownership of solar module manufacturing. Silicon thin film has been recognized to play a role in either reducing manufacturing cost or increasing conversion efficiency, which are Si-TF solar modules[1] and Si-HJ solar cell,[2] respectively. Table 1 shows different market introduction of these two solar cell/modules.
Bram Hoex, Solar Energy Research Institute of Singapore
Silicon wafer solar cells dominate the photovoltaic (PV) market, with a market share of ~85 percent in 2010. However, PV electricity is not yet cost-effective for applications in most parts of the world, and the market is thus predominantly ruled by government policies such as the feed-in tariff in Germany. To become cost-competitive, a need for further cost reductions of PV electricity exists. A very effective way for reducing the PV electricity cost is to increase the efficiency of the solar cells in a cost-effective way, as this efficiency increase can work as a leverage to reduce the relative cost downstream in the PV value chain (module and balance of system costs).
Advanced Material Handling: Requirements for the Next Generation
The photovoltaic industry roadmaps point to increased automation and reduced substrate thickness and costs. Current practices in material handling will not be adequate to meet the industry’s growing needs for increased automation and process capability.
Texturing and process cleaning steps use aggressive acids and bases that can damage process carriers over time. These shifting mechanical changes can cause misalignment with automation tools and result in damaged cells or equipment. It is important that the materials and the design of the carriers be optimized for use in these processes and do not degrade over time. Based on input from cell manufacturers and expertise in the highly standardized semiconductor industry, Entegris has developed process carriers designed to maintain dimensional stability and interface with automation tools.
Bryan Ekus, Managing Director, International Photovoltaic Equipment Association
Irrespective of technology, increasing solar cell power conversion efficiency plays a critical role in reducing the cost of PV electricity. Higher-efficiency modules, resulting from higher-efficiency cells, reduce the cost of installation, or balance of system (BoS) costs. This has important ramifications for equipment suppliers.
Peter Rigby, Umicore
The purpose of this article is to demystify and explain that in the next decades, the photovoltaic (PV) industry supply chain will be able to responsibly manage sustainable materials flows by a combination of efficient materials extraction, usage, recycling, product design and substitution.
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F. Granek, S. Hopman, S. Kluska, M. Breitwisser, C. Fleischmann, M. Glatthaar, S. Glunz
Introduction
Laser processing of silicon solar cells is widely investigated in research labs and already applied in the industrial production of, e.g., local laser doping, buried contacts, laser-fired contacts or edge isolation. In our research group, a liquid-jet guided laser is used for laser chemical processing (LCP) of silicon solar cells.[1] LCP allows for simultaneous structuring of the passivation layers and formation of highly doped regions locally. Thus, in using the LCP process, the formation of the selective emitters or local back-surface fields (LBSF) can be done in just one processing step, allowing for cost-effective manufacturing of high-efficiency silicon solar cells. During the initial phase of laboratory R&D efforts at Fraunhofer ISE, e.g., [2-5], it was demonstrated that LCP selective emitter can be well combined with different front-side metalization schemes, such as screen-printed Ag-paste,[4,6] nickel-silver light-induced plating[7] and aerosol jet printing.[8] This paper gives an overview of the selected current research focuses on LCP technology at Fraunhofer ISE.
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Craig Hunter, Senior Vice President & General Manager, Clean Energy Group, Intermolecular
These are tough times for most of the PV industry. In tough times, both cost reduction and product differentiation are a matter of life and death. There continues to be a parade of announcements from industry leaders and would-be leaders featuring record efficiencies and new innovations in cell processing toward higher efficiency and lower costs.
Bryan Ekus, International Photovoltaic Equipment Association
Deposition of Contaminants on Silicon Media During Wet Processing
The International Photovoltaic Equipment Association – IPVEA – is committed to the solar energy industry and to enabling profitable manufacturing of photovoltaic technology. Understanding that there are many steps in PV manufacturing, wet processing technology remains an economically attractive technique in the Si solar cell fabrication.
For the global photovoltaic (PV) power industry to prosper, it must become more competitive with the cost of traditional electric power. That means reducing the cost per kilowatt-hour (kWh) associated with solar-generated power to a level that yields grid parity between solar power and traditional electricity.
M.W. Johnson, Entegris, Inc
C.W. Extrand, Entegris, Inc
Adi Gildor, Entegris, Inc
Stuart Tison, Entegris, Inc
The evaluation of photovoltaic manufacturing wet process steps shows how impurities may be deposited on silicon media. Upon withdrawing a wafer, a liquid layer remains on the silicon surface. Any contaminants in the liquid will be deposited on the silicon when the liquid evaporates. This data shows the biggest factor affecting deposition of impurities is the concentration of impurities in the bath.
