Title :
Challenges for EFG ribbon technology on the path to large scale manufacturing
Author :
Kalejs, J. ; Schmidt, W. ; Schwirtlich, I. ; Hoffmann, W.
Author_Institution :
RWE SCHOTT Solar, Inc., Billerica, MA, USA
Abstract :
Manufacturing processes based on polycrystalline silicon wafers produced by the edge-defined film-fed growth (EFG) technique have reached a mature and competitive status at RWE Schott Solar and a capacity of over 40 MW is now established. EFG ribbon production represents the single largest alternative photovoltaic technology to conventional single crystal polycrystalline silicon wafers produced from ingots of various types, e.g., casting, directional solidification and Czochralski, which currently dominate the industry. Challenges and barriers to continued growth and competitiveness of ribbon technologies are discussed in this paper.
Keywords :
crystal growth from melt; elemental semiconductors; ingots; integrated circuit manufacture; semiconductor growth; silicon; Czochralski growth; EFG ribbon technology; Si; casting; directional solidification; edge-defined film-fed growth technique; ingots; large scale manufacturing; photovoltaic technology; polycrystalline silicon wafers; Casting; Costs; Crystallization; Explosives; Large-scale systems; Manufacturing; Production; Productivity; Research and development; Silicon;
Conference_Titel :
Photovoltaic Specialists Conference, 2005. Conference Record of the Thirty-first IEEE
Print_ISBN :
0-7803-8707-4
DOI :
10.1109/PVSC.2005.1488379
