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Title: Strength of Silicon Wafers: Fracture Mechanics Approach

Journal Article · · International Journal of Fracture

This paper describes a model to predict mechanical strength distribution of silicon wafers. A generalized expression, based on a multimodal Weibull distribution, is proposed to describe the strength of a brittle material with surface, edge, and bulk flaws. The specific case of a cast, unpolished photovoltaic (PV) wafer is further analyzed. Assuming that surface microcracks constitute the dominant mechanism of wafer breakage, this model predicts the strength distribution of PV silicon that matches well the experimental results available in the literature.

Research Organization:
National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE
DOE Contract Number:
AC36-99-GO10337
OSTI ID:
951018
Journal Information:
International Journal of Fracture, Vol. 155, Issue 1, 2009; ISSN 0376-9429
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English