Technology Breakdown

SOLA2020/SOLA9006
Photovoltaic
i Technology
and Manufacturing
Lecture 1 – Si Crystal Growth, Wafering

Nicole Kuepper

Si Consolidation η & $ Si
15.8% Screen Print c/W
Wafers, 72

drive $/W
Siemens Polysilicon Prices ($/kg) CAPEX, 6
$1,000
Materials, 23
BOS, 180
Contract Price
Spot Price M d l 55
Module,
Labor, 6

$100

17% Laser Doped c/W

Savings, 20
$10 CAPEX, 7
May

May
Nov

Nov
Aug

Aug
Apr

Mar
Apr
Dec

Dec
Oct

Oct
Jun

Sep

Jan
Feb

Jun

Sep

Jan
Feb
Jul

Jul

Wafers, 67
M
A

A
M

M
N

N
A

A
D

D
F

F
S

S
J

Materials,
Materials
2008 2009 2010 19

• Involves huge investments, long ramp up BOS, 173

Module, 51
• Supply = demand 2008, supply >> demand 2009 onwards Æ $25-30/kg Siemens Labor, 5
• By 2013 Hemlock, Wacker, OCI able to serve 96% demand
• Capacity? Inventory?
• 70% capacity in 2009, ???% for 2010

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 Silicon Quartz Æ Metallurgical Grade Si
Abundant Low cost $$$ to purify • SiO2 + C Æ Si + CO2
– Si = 98% pure
– C = coal, coke or wood chips
– 1500-2000 C in an electrode furnace
– 14 kWh for 1kg Si

MG Si Purification MG Si Purification
• Si + 3HCl Æ SiHCl3 + H2 • SiHCl3 + H2 Æ Si + 3HCl
– Powdered MG-Si + anhydrous HCl at 300 C – Si deposited onto thin, heated poly Si rods of d 150-200mm
– Fluidised bed reactor – 1100 C for 200-300 hrs
– Impurities Fe, Al, B Æ FeCl3, AlCl3, BCl3 Æ <1ppb – Siemens 1950/60s
– SiHCl3 low BP 31.8C Æ distilled out – Rods broken into chunks for crystal growth
– Electronic / Semiconductor grade Si or “Si feedstock”

2
Quality is so Important Monocrystalline Si
High quality Si Æ high cost • Czochralski method
• Purity
• > 1410 C
• C
Crystallographically
ll hi ll
• 1m long x 30cm diameter
• Surfaces
• $$$
• Slow
• Impurities solubility > in
liquid than solid
• O from crucible Æ Boron
Oxygen defects
• C from graphite heater

Monocrystalline Si Multicrystalline Si
• Float Zone technique
• NO crucible
• Seed
S d crystal
t l

3
 Manufacturers Buying Wafers
• Companies specify
– Type of Si (multi or mono)
Others, 22% Hemlock, 21% – Thickness ~ 250 μm Æ thinner
– Area ~ 125x125mm or 156x156mm
Dow Corning, 3% – Doping concentration – Boron ~ 1016 cm-3
OCI, 4% – Gallium doped cells – no Light Induced Degradation but
Wacker, 18% resistivity fluctuates
Mitsubishi, 5%
– Crystal orientation (if mono)
Tokuyama, 8% – Minority carrier lifetime – good measurement of quality

REC, 10%
MEMC, 9%

Doping Concentration Ribbon Growth Si

– Wafer resistivity directly related to Boron present • Form wafers directly – no
~ 0.3-3 Ωcm g
• Edge-defined Film-fed Growth
– Voc increases as [Boron] increases
– Test resistivity using a 4 point probe

4
New Innovations Fluid Bed Reactor Process
• Upgraded Metallurgical Grade Si / Fluidized
Bed Reactor Si • Silane Æ Si
• Popular at $400/kg not so at < $50/kg • Increase rate of
production
• Many challenges
• 80-90% lower E than
• Companies focusing on core competencies
Siemens
• FBR
• 25% cheaper than
– MEMC only experts
– REC Siemens
• UMG • REC - Moses Lake Plant
– Mixing w/ higher quality poly Æ $$$ Washington

Wafers Wafer Manufacturers

• Prices peaked at $7-9/wafer in 2008 (max $12!) LDK, 11%
9
8 MEMC, 10%
Others, 40%
7
REC, 9%
6
$/Wafer

5
SolarWorld, 6%
4
3 ReneSola, 5%
Trina 3%
Trina,
2 Kyocera, 4% Jinglong , 5%
1 Yingli, 4%

0 PV Crystalox, 3%

Jun-08 Dec-08 Jul-09 Jan-10 Aug-10 Feb-11

5
 Wafer Sawing Wafer Sawing
• Equipment Companies:
• Wire saw technique: – HCT (acquired by Applied Materials) pioneers in:
– Thin 140-160um
140 160um wire with abrasive liquid • Developing
D l i & manufacturing
f t i mostt advanced
d d wire
i saws
– Large kerf losses ~ 200um – Meyer-Burger Slicing Systems
– Creates ~ 10um damage either side of wafer
• Challenges:
– Lower kerf losses
– Thinner wafers
– Mechanical linearity
– Process consistency

SiGen - PolyMaxTM Metrology

• Ion beam-induced cleaving • Incoming wafer inspection
– 10-150 µm wafers – GP Solar
– almost
l t zero kerf-loss
k fl – geometry, chipped edges, microcracks, saw marks,
– US$0.3-0.35/W thickness, TTV, resistivity
– 3000 wafers/hr

– Learn more in
Photoluminescence

Ref: Henley, et al, 2009, “Kerf-free 20-150 µm c-Si wafering for thin PV manufacturing,”
Proc. 24th EUPVSEC, in press

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Equipment RENA
PreWaClean

MultiLifter

InWaClean WaSep