The manufacturing process of PV solar cells necessitates specialized equipment, each contributing significantly to the final product’s quality and efficiency: Silicon Ingot and Wafer Manufacturing Tools: These transform raw silicon into crystalline ingots and then slice them into thin wafers, forming the substrate of the solar cells.
While most solar PV module companies are nothing more than assemblers of ready solar cells bought from various suppliers, some factories have at least however their own solar cell production line in which the raw material in form of silicon wafers is further processed and refined.
The assembly of photovoltaic modules consists of a series of consecutive operations that can be performed by automatic machines dedicated to optimizing the single production phases that transform the various raw material in a finished product.
How Does Solar Work? Solar manufacturing encompasses the production of products and materials across the solar value chain. While some concentrating solar-thermal manufacturing exists, most solar manufacturing in the United States is related to photovoltaic (PV) systems.
The schematic process flow for the fabrication of a PV module is shown in Fig. 2. In the interconnection step, solar cells in one column of the PV module are soldered either manually or by a tabber and stringer machine. These strings are typically inspected by electroluminescence imaging to identify defects early on in the production process.
For real-world applications, photovoltaic modules are fabricated by electrically connecting typically 36 to 72 solar cells together in a so-called PV module. A PV module (or panel) is an assembly of solar cells in a sealed, weather-proof packaging and is the fundamental building block of photovoltaic (PV) systems.