Compatibility of the RGS silicon wafer with industrial type solar cell processing

The ribbon-growth-on-substrate (RGS) silicon wafer technology is a unique casting technology for the next generation of silicon wafer manufacturing for photovoltaic application. Compared to today´s cut wafer technology, the silicon yield is increased from about 40% to more than 90% due to the direct casting. This in combination with the high production volume per machine and year makes RGS wafers a promising technology for the next step towards cost effective solar electricity. However, for a successful implementation of this technology in the market, not only the wafer manufacturing process but also the compatibility of the RGS wafers with today´s solar cell lines has to be demonstrated. This paper presents an overview on the lessons learned in the last 7 years of solar cell processing of RGS wafers manufactured with the laboratory equipment at ECN.