Crack detection in crystalline silicon solar cells using dark-field imaging
The high capital expenditure (capex) necessary to manufacture crystalline silicon PV modules negatively affects the levelized cost of electricity (¢/kWh) and critically impacts the rate at which the PV industry can scale up. Wafer, cell, and module fabrication with thin free-standing silicon wafers...
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| Format: | Article |
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Elsevier
2018
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| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/118895 https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9352-8741 https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8345-4937 https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6959-4810 |
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| author | Wieghold, Sarah Morishige, Ashley Elizabeth Meyer, Luke Buonassisi, Anthony Sachs, Emanuel Michael |
| author2 | Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Mechanical Engineering |
| author_facet | Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Mechanical Engineering Wieghold, Sarah Morishige, Ashley Elizabeth Meyer, Luke Buonassisi, Anthony Sachs, Emanuel Michael |
| author_sort | Wieghold, Sarah |
| collection | MIT |
| description | The high capital expenditure (capex) necessary to manufacture crystalline silicon PV modules negatively affects the levelized cost of electricity (¢/kWh) and critically impacts the rate at which the PV industry can scale up. Wafer, cell, and module fabrication with thin free-standing silicon wafers is one key to reduce capex. Thin wafers reduce capex associated with silicon refining and wafer fabrication, which together sum to 58% of the total capex of silicon module manufacturing. In addition, thin wafers directly and significantly reduce variable costs. However, introducing 50 μm thin free-standing wafers into today's manufacturing lines result in cracking, creating a yield-based disincentive. Due to the brittle nature of silicon, wafer breakage is the major concern due to the high stress that is induced during processes in manufacturing lines. In this paper, we describe an improved method for edge micro-crack detection that can help enable low-capex, thin free-standing Si wafers. We present a method of detecting and measuring cracks along wafer edges by using a dark-field IR scattering imaging technique which enables detection of edge cracks at the micron scale. Keywords: Capex; polysilicon; thin free-standing wafer; edge crack detection; IR scattering; dark-field imaging |
| first_indexed | 2024-09-23T14:55:18Z |
| format | Article |
| id | mit-1721.1/118895 |
| institution | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| last_indexed | 2024-09-23T14:55:18Z |
| publishDate | 2018 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | mit-1721.1/1188952022-10-01T23:21:22Z Crack detection in crystalline silicon solar cells using dark-field imaging Wieghold, Sarah Morishige, Ashley Elizabeth Meyer, Luke Buonassisi, Anthony Sachs, Emanuel Michael Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Mechanical Engineering Wieghold, Sarah Morishige, Ashley Elizabeth Meyer, Luke Buonassisi, Anthony Sachs, Emanuel Michael The high capital expenditure (capex) necessary to manufacture crystalline silicon PV modules negatively affects the levelized cost of electricity (¢/kWh) and critically impacts the rate at which the PV industry can scale up. Wafer, cell, and module fabrication with thin free-standing silicon wafers is one key to reduce capex. Thin wafers reduce capex associated with silicon refining and wafer fabrication, which together sum to 58% of the total capex of silicon module manufacturing. In addition, thin wafers directly and significantly reduce variable costs. However, introducing 50 μm thin free-standing wafers into today's manufacturing lines result in cracking, creating a yield-based disincentive. Due to the brittle nature of silicon, wafer breakage is the major concern due to the high stress that is induced during processes in manufacturing lines. In this paper, we describe an improved method for edge micro-crack detection that can help enable low-capex, thin free-standing Si wafers. We present a method of detecting and measuring cracks along wafer edges by using a dark-field IR scattering imaging technique which enables detection of edge cracks at the micron scale. Keywords: Capex; polysilicon; thin free-standing wafer; edge crack detection; IR scattering; dark-field imaging United States. Department of Energy (Grant DE-EE0007535) 2018-11-05T20:08:00Z 2018-11-05T20:08:00Z 2017-09 2018-11-02T18:41:40Z Article http://purl.org/eprint/type/JournalArticle 1876-6102 http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/118895 Wieghold, Sarah et al. “Crack Detection in Crystalline Silicon Solar Cells Using Dark-Field Imaging.” Energy Procedia 124 (September 2017): 526–531 © The Authors https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9352-8741 https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8345-4937 https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6959-4810 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/J.EGYPRO.2017.09.252 Energy Procedia Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ application/pdf Elsevier Elsevier |
| spellingShingle | Wieghold, Sarah Morishige, Ashley Elizabeth Meyer, Luke Buonassisi, Anthony Sachs, Emanuel Michael Crack detection in crystalline silicon solar cells using dark-field imaging |
| title | Crack detection in crystalline silicon solar cells using dark-field imaging |
| title_full | Crack detection in crystalline silicon solar cells using dark-field imaging |
| title_fullStr | Crack detection in crystalline silicon solar cells using dark-field imaging |
| title_full_unstemmed | Crack detection in crystalline silicon solar cells using dark-field imaging |
| title_short | Crack detection in crystalline silicon solar cells using dark-field imaging |
| title_sort | crack detection in crystalline silicon solar cells using dark field imaging |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/118895 https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9352-8741 https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8345-4937 https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6959-4810 |
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