Open AccessPhotovoltaic Cz silicon module improvements. Annual technical progress report, November 9, 1995--November 8, 1996
Author(s) -
Richard R. King,
K.W. Mitchell,
T. Jester
Publication year - 1998
Publication title -
osti oai (u.s. department of energy office of scientific and technical information)
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Reports
DOI - 10.2172/572747
Subject(s) - photovoltaic system , wafer , fabrication , siemens , cost reduction , yield (engineering) , process engineering , silicon , reduction (mathematics) , reliability engineering , automotive engineering , engineering , computer science , manufacturing engineering , electrical engineering , materials science , mathematics , optoelectronics , medicine , alternative medicine , geometry , management , pathology , economics , metallurgy
Work focused on reducing the cost per watt of Cz silicon photovoltaic modules under Phase I of Siemens Solar Industries` DOE/NREL PVMaT 4A subcontract is described. Module cost components are analyzed and solutions to high-cost items are discussed in terms of specific module designs. The approaches of using larger cells and modulus to reduce per-part processing cost, and of minimizing yield loss are particularly leveraging. Yield components for various parts of the fabrication process and various types of defects are shown, and measurements of the force required to break wafers throughout the cell fabrication sequence are given. The most significant type of yield loss is mechanical breakage. The implementation of statistical process control on key manufacturing processes at Siemens Solar Industries is described. Module configurations prototyped during Phase I of this project and scheduled to begin production in Phase II have a projected cost per watt reduction of 19%
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