Evolution of Silicon Wafer Dimensions

Abstract

Solar energy is a renewable energy that the world is endeavouring to utilize. The solar cell is the essential invention that makes energy transfer from light to electricity possible. Solar cells are normally made from silicon wafers due to silicon’s semi-conductivity. The thesis will focus on the development of silicon wafers’ size and fabrication technology. Through analysis of resent (in 5 years) statistics from reports released by government or incorporations, the link between the trend and the reasons behind is interpreted. ITRPV has pointed out that silicon wafers are switching to the mono-crystalline ones, the larger ones, and the PERC processed ones. The mono-crystalline ones excel in efficiency due to uniform lattice structure, but is more costly because of the Czochralski process. The larger cells can absorb more sunlight. The PERC cell technique reduces recombination and reflects unabsorbed sunlight, therefore gradually eliminates the traditional BSF technique.