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.
Cell Fabrication – Silicon wafers are then fabricated into photovoltaic cells. The first step is chemical texturing of the wafer surface, which removes saw damage and increases how much light gets into the wafer when it is exposed to sunlight.
The silicon grown for photovoltaic (PV) applications is grown in a cylindrical form with a diameter of 8 – 12 inches (~200 – 300 mm, depending on the target wafer size). The surface of the cylinder is then trimmed to make a (pseudo-)square shape. These ingots can be prepared as either intrinsic, p -type doped or n -type doped silicon.
The production of silicon solar cells The production of a typical silicon solar cell ( Fig. 2) starts with the carbothermic reduction of silicates in an electric arc furnace. In this process large amounts of electrical energy break the silicon–oxygen bond in SiO 2 via an endothermic reaction with carbon.
Solar cells fabricated from mono-Si comprises an estimated 97 % (81 % p -type and 16 % n -type) of all silicon wafer-based solar cells . The typical thickness of mono-Si used PV solar cell production is in the 130‑160 μm range. In 2022, the largest mono-Si silicon wafer manufacturer was Xi’an Longi Silicon Materials Corporation.
Wire sawing will remain the dominant method of producing crystalline wafers for solar cells, at least for the near future. Recent research efforts have kept their focus on reducing the wafer thickness and kerf, with both approaches aiming to produce the same amount of solar cells with less silicon material usage.