Reducing cost by choice
As global economic realities ensure solar manufacturers seek every possible advantage in improving product while reducing cost. Mike Boger, Strategic Marketing Manager, Edwards and Yoshihisa Wakamatsu, Project Manager at Umoe Solar discuss how vacuum design considerations can help reduce Cost of Ownership in crystalline silicon manufacturing.
C
rystalline silicon technologies are likely to continue their domination of
photovoltaic (PV) device production for the foreseeable future. The processes used to create crystalline silicon substrates (both mono crystalline and multi crystalline) require vacuum, and choices made in vacuum technology and system design can significantly impact the production cost of the silicon wafers.
Silicon wafer manufactures have many things to consider as they set up their manufacturing facilities. A key choice is the type of wafer they will produce and whether the ingots they produce will be single or multi crystalline. This fundamental decision drives their choice of ingot manufacturing tools. The two mainstream
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