Title :
The coming of age of a new PV wafer technology-some aspects of EFG polycrystalline silicon sheet manufacture
Author :
Kardauskas, M.J. ; Rosenblum, M.D. ; Mackintosh, B.H. ; Kalejs, J.P.
Author_Institution :
ASE America Inc., Billerica, MA, USA
Abstract :
The authors trace the pioneering research and development experiences over the past 25 years which have led to a full scale manufacturing line for photovoltaic modules utilizing polycrystalline silicon wafers produced by the edge-defined film-fed growth (EFG) technique. They examine the progress made in two core areas in detail-crystal growth productivity and wafer bulk quality-which have justified the recent scale up of EFG technology at ASE Americas to the multi-megawatt level. They identify areas in which future advances will enable a crystalline silicon-based EFG technology to compete with cost targets anticipated for the photovoltaics marketplace beyond the year 2000
Keywords :
crystal growth from melt; semiconductor device manufacture; semiconductor growth; semiconductor thin films; silicon; solar cells; PV wafer technology; Si; crystal growth productivity; edge-defined film-fed growth; manufacturing line; polycrystalline silicon sheet manufacture; technology scale-up; wafer bulk quality; Costs; Crystalline materials; Crystallization; Manufacturing; Photovoltaic systems; Productivity; Research and development; Shape; Silicon; Solar power generation;
Conference_Titel :
Photovoltaic Specialists Conference, 1996., Conference Record of the Twenty Fifth IEEE
Conference_Location :
Washington, DC
Print_ISBN :
0-7803-3166-4
DOI :
10.1109/PVSC.1996.564024
