Cast polycrystalline silicon photovoltaic cell and module manufacturing technology improvements
- Solarex, A Business Unit of Amoco/Enron Solar, Frederick, Maryland (United States)
The objectives of this NREL sponsored Phase 2B Photovoltaic Manufacturing Technology (PVMaT) Program were to advance Solarex{close_quote}s cast polycrystalline silicon manufacturing technology, reduce module production cost in half, increase module performance and expand Solarex{close_quote}s commercial production capacity by a factor of three. To meet these objectives Solarex: 1) Modified the casting process and stations and is now casting larger ingots in production; 2) Developed wire saw technology to cut wafers with less kerf loss and is now using wire saws for more than 80{percent} of wafering production; 3) Developed an aluminum paste back surface field (BSF) process to increase cell efficiency by 5{percent} and has transferred this process to production using a fully automated printing system; 4) Completed modifications to the module assembly area to reduce labor and to increase capacity by a factor of three; and 5) Developed a frameless module with a lower cost backsheet and a simple, low cost electrical termination system. {copyright} {ital 1999 American Institute of Physics.}
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE
- OSTI ID:
- 357190
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-980935-; ISSN 0094-243X; TRN: 9915M0109
- Journal Information:
- AIP Conference Proceedings, Vol. 462, Issue 1; Conference: 15. National Center for Photovoltaics program review conference, Denver, CO (United States), 9-11 Sep 1998; Other Information: PBD: Mar 1999
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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