Compatibility of the RGS silicon wafer with industrial type solar cell processing

Abstract

The ribbon-growth-on-substrate (RGS) silicon wafer technology is a unique casting technology for the next generation of silicon wafer manufacturing for photovoltaic application. Compared to today's cut wafer technology, the silicon yield is increased from about 40% to more than 90% due to the direct casting. This in combination with the high production volume per machine and year makes RGS wafers a promising technology for the next step towards cost effective solar electricity. However, for a successful implementation of this technology in the market, not only the wafer manufacturing process but also the compatibility of the RGS wafers with today's solar cell lines has to be demonstrated. This paper presents an overview on the lessons learned in the last 7 years of solar cell processing of RGS wafers manufactured with the laboratory equipment at ECN.