Thickness of solar monocrystalline silicon wafer

How thin is a silicon solar cell?

Strobl et al. reported a 15.8% efficiency silicon solar cell with a thickness of 50 μm in the locally thinned regions and 130 μm for the frames 25. But other details of this structure are particularly underreported. There is also a “3-D” wafer technology developed by 1366 technology, Inc. around 2016.

Is there a trade-off between thickness and area for thin silicon solar cells?

For the above reason, there is a trade-off between thickness and area for thin silicon solar cells. It is very challenging to prepare thin c-Si solar cells with large areas to a very thin thickness. Table 1 summarizes the characteristics of c-Si solar cells with a thickness of ≤ 40 μm reported since 2010.

How to convert a silicon wafer into a solar cell?

Monocrystalline silicon wafer with thickness of 300 μm, area of 1 cm2, bulk doping level NB =1.5×1016/cm3 both for p-type wafer and n-type wafer are used. Both wafer then converted into solar cell by adding emitter layer with concentration NE =7.5×1018/cm3 both for p-type wafer and n-type wafer.

Does silicon wafer thickness affect fracture strength?

The effect of the silicon wafer thickness, the position of the silicon wafer in the silicon brick (usage time of the saw wire varies), and the bending test direction on the fracture characteristics was analyzed. The results showed that the increase of thickness increase the characteristic fracture strength of silicon wafer.

How to test the mechanical strength of photovoltaic silicon wafers?

And additional machining processes is required to make samples, which generate non-original defects and further affect the fracture strength. So far, there is no standard test method for evaluating the mechanical strength of silicon wafers, because of a large aspect ratio of photovoltaic silicon wafers.

Are thin crystalline silicon solar cells effective?

Lightweight and flexible thin crystalline silicon solar cells have huge market potential but remain relatively unexplored. Here, authors present a thin silicon structure with reinforced ring to prepare free-standing 4.7-μm 4-inch silicon wafers, achieving efficiency of 20.33% for 28-μm solar cells.