Unidirectional solidification of large Si ingots from the melt phase is currently one of the most important technologies for producing mc-Si for PV cells. Si ingot furnaces began from casting equipment, and have been improved by DSS (directional solidification system) or DSS-like methods. To improve PV cell efficiency and reduce costs, intensive development has focused on increasing a single ingot’s volume, reducing impurities and controlling the growth speed and temperature gradient. One of the latest developments of Si ingot furnaces is mono-like crystalline silicon growth using a seed preservation method and more accurate control. The Si ingot furnaces are optimized with precise control of temperature gradients and growth speed for the formation of a large unit of quasi-monocrystalline Si. This optimization can further improve a PV cell’s efficiency by at least 1%. In order to obtain fundamental knowledge about the key process steps that determine the growth and electrical quality of mc-Si via directional solidification in an ingot furnace, a combined modelling-measuring approach is essential. Moreover, a mathematical model of the Si ingot casting process can be used for model-based process control.
Solar photovoltaic (PV) electricity continued its remarkable growth trend in 2011, even in the midst of a financial and economic crisis and despite the PV industry going through a difficult period. Once again PV markets grew faster than anyone had expected, just as they have done for the past decade, especially in Europe but also around the world. While such a rapid growth rate cannot be expected to last forever in Europe, prospects for growth around the world remain high. The results of 2011 – and indeed the outlook for the next several years – show that under the right policy conditions, PV can continue its progress towards competitiveness in key electricity markets and be a mainstream energy source. The major system-price decrease that was experienced in 2011, combined with measures taken in Germany and Italy after the Fukushima nuclear disaster, allowed the market to further develop in 2011, particularly in these two countries. However, the price decrease also helped weaken the policy support in many countries, with policymakers facing growing discontent with regard to the perceived cost of PV and the ailing PV industry in Europe.
Texturization of (100) monocrystalline silicon (mono-Si) for solar cells is still an issue in the industrial production of standard screen-printed mono-Si solar cells. This fact is due to the properties of isopropyl alcohol (IPA), which is used together with potassium hydroxide (KOH) in the standard etching solution KOH-IPA (or used with sodium hydroxide NaOH in NaOH-IPA). The low boiling point of IPA (82.4°C) limits the etching temperature and thus the processing speed. Furthermore, KOH-IPA etching solution is very sensitive to the wafer pre-treatment characteristics of as-cut mono-Si wafers. Two ways to overcome these disadvantages are presented in this paper. The first approach involves the use of a high boiling alcohol (HBA) instead of IPA in the standard KOH-IPA etching solution. This allows higher etching temperatures to be used, without evaporation losses of the alcohol, but with reduced etching times. The second approach consists of using a closed etching bath in which vacuum (low-pressure) steps (i.e. pressure oscillations between atmospheric and below-atmospheric pressure) are achievable; in addition, a cooling system located on top of the etching bath allows the liquefaction of the evaporated IPA. The second texturing approach considerably decreases the etching time of mono-Si wafers. Examples of mono-Si wafers were textured using the new KOH-HBA etching solution and then processed into solar cells; the current-voltage results of the processed solar cells are presented.
Solar-grade silicon (SoG-Si) based on metallurgical refining processes, often called upgraded metallurgical-grade silicon (UMG-Si), is expected to play an important role in achieving the solar industry’s necessary cost targets per Wp in order to compete with other energy sources. The broad term ‘UMG-Si’ currently embraces types of silicon feedstock that differ quite substantially in product quality and performance. This paper presents a summary of the work carried out by Elkem on low-cost production of silicon feedstock via a flexible, recycling metallurgical processing route with the lowest carbon footprint on the market. Results are given that qualify Elkem Solar Silicon® (ESS™) as a SoG-Si, with comparable efficiencies to polysilicon (poly-Si) from the traditional Siemens process. The latest results on the performance of modules based on ESS are reported. An indication of the stability of older modules based on SoG-Si feedstock from Elkem is also considered. On the basis of the results, there is no reason to expect modules based on ESS to differ from other commercial modules based on poly-Si. ESS is therefore shown to be a viable alternative to conventional poly-Si, but with the additional benefit of lowering specific energy use and cost per Wp.
Several PV module producers have performed a carbon footprint analysis and published a sustainability report as part of their corporate social responsibility policy. Comparison of carbon footprint results is difficult because several international standards and life cycle assessment (LCA) databases are used. No product footprint category rules (PFCR) or product category rules (PCRs) for photovoltaics exist, so LCAs are performed with varying underlying assumptions. Furthermore, a fair comparison can only be made when all environmental footprints of a product are taken into account.
In the photovoltaics industry, contacts to crystalline silicon are typically formed by the firing of screen-printed metal pastes. However, the stability of dielectric surface passivation layers during the high-temperature contact formation has turned out to be a major challenge for some of the best passivating layers, such as intrinsic amorphous silicon. Capping of well-passivating dielectric layers by hydrogen-rich silicon nitride (SiNx), however, has been demonstrated to improve the thermal stability, an effect which can be attributed to the atomic hydrogen (H) diffusing out of the interface during firing, and passivating dangling bonds. This paper presents the results of investigations into the influence of two different dielectric passivation stacks on the firing stability, namely SiNy/SiNx (y < x) and Al2O3/SiNx stacks. Excellent firing stability was demonstrated for both stack systems. Effective surface recombination velocities of < 10cm/s were measured after a conventional co firing process on 1.5Ωcm p-type float-zone silicon wafers for both passivation schemes. On the solar cell level, however, better results were obtained using the Al2O3/SiNx stack, where an efficiency of 19.5% was achieved for a large-area screen-printed solar cell fabricated on conventional Czochralski-grown silicon.
The solar photovoltaics market in the United Kingdom was virtually non-existent until April 2010, when the long-awaited feed-in tariff scheme was implemented. Yet, despite coming late to the game, the UK’s solar industry took off immediately, installing more than 80MW in the first 12 months alone. Now, just two years down the line, the market is placed as the world’s eighth largest. This paper will take a look back at how the UK got to this point as well as considering just how bright the future of this fast-paced market will realistically be.
Predicting what will happen to the global PV market is very nearly an impossible task. Its underlying principles are very similar to the dozens of other electronics markets that IMS Research studies, but the key difference in the PV industry is the very close link to, and ultimate dependence on, government policy. In a few years’ time, the introduction, halting or change (or rumoured change) of a single government’s PV policy will have little effect on the global industry, and the huge swings in demand will be less common and less severe. The reasons for this are clear. First, because of geographic diversification in the industry, a single country will account for a smaller portion of the global total (unlike in 2011, when Germany and Italy accounted for more than half of global demand) and thus individual governments’ policy changes will have a smaller impact. Second, if system prices continue to drop rapidly (and IMS Research believes they will), a growing number of regions will achieve the ‘holy grail’ of grid parity and will thus no longer depend solely on government policy to drive their markets.
The purpose of this paper is to give an overview of the use and potential of diamond wire for the silicon-shaping process in the PV industry. The current market and future prospects for helping to meet the goals of 2020’s roadmap of thinner wafers and reduced $/W are described.
Crystalline silicon solar modules installed in the field are exposed to atmospheric conditions and experience stress, which induces a wear-out phenomenon in various parts of the modules and degrades performance over time. The performance eventually reaches a point where the output power falls below an acceptable level. Thermal cycling (TC) and damp heat (DH) are two important reliability tests for estimating infant failures related to materials and the manufacturing process, as well as providing the information on performance degradation with respect to time. In this study, modules composed of 156mm × 156mm multicrystalline silicon cells were subjected to TC and DH tests. By applying acceleration models, such as the Norris-Landzberg model for TC and the Hallberg-Peck model for DH, the minimum guaranteed life was calculated. The electrical and reliability results were interpreted and explained on the basis of the respective models.
