SiGen creates ion implant technology for solar pv

Silicon Genesis (SiGen) creates a new ion-implant technology, aiming to reduce silicon material usage in solar panels, thus, reducing cost. Currently, silicon wafer thickness is in the 150-micron range. Wafers are freed from blocks of silicon using wire saws in a complex process reaching technological limits. Manufacturers push the limit of wafer thickness, resorting to even more expensive methods and it is a weak link and cost target in the solar value chain. Manufacturers spend time and energy to fabricate blocks of polysilicon, only to see up to half of that hard-earned material turned into sawdust in the wafer production step. Thin silicon with dimensions of 20 microns could be a disruptive change in the solar manufacturing story. SiGen, along with competitor Twin Creeks, intend to replace that production chain with an ion implant machine. Ion implant technology accelerates the process, however there are still challenges needing to be settled such as wafer handling, interconnection, packaging and reliability. SiGen is just one of many pursuing less expensive and greener ways of transforming blocks of silicon into thin solar wafers.