Multicrystalline solar cell equipment

What is a multicrystalline silicon cell?

Multicrystalline silicon cells. Multicrystalline cells, also known as polycrystalline cells, are produced using numerous grains of monocrystalline silicon. In the manufacturing process, molten polycrystalline silicon is cast into ingots, which are subsequently cut into very thin wafers and assembled into complete cells.

How are multicrystalline cells made?

Multicrystalline cells are produced using numerous grains of monocrystalline silicon. In the manufacturing process, molten multicrystalline silicon is cast into ingots, which are subsequently cut into very thin wafers and assembled into complete cells.

Which crystals are most suitable for multicrystalline silicon solar cells?

It used to be thought that large grain crystals were the most suitable for multicrystalline silicon solar cells since larger crystals meant fewer grain boundaries. However, in recent years it was found that smaller grains gave lower stress at the ground boundaries so they were less electrically active (lower recombination).

How is multicystalline silicon grown?

Presently, most multicystalline silicon for solar cells is grown using a process where the growth is seeded to produce smaller grains and referred to as "high performance multi" 1 Slab of multicrystalline silicon after growth. The slab is further cut up into bricks and then the bricks are sliced into wafers.

What is a multicrystalline silicon wafer?

The wafer has been textured so that grains of different orientation show up as light and dark. Although more than half of the manufactured modules used multicrystalline silicon for many years, starting in 2018, monocrystalline silicon began to dominate and by 2020 and 2021 it became difficult to buy multicyrstalline silicon cells.

What is a crystalline silicon cell?

Crystalline silicon cells are further categorized as either monocrystalline silicon cells that offer high efficiencies (13–19%) but are more difficult to manufacture or polycrystalline (also called multicrystalline) silicon cells that have lower efficiencies (9–14%) but are less expensive and easier to manufacture.