TY - GEN
T1 - Modeling and laboratory scale proof of concept of the horizontal ribbon growth process
T2 - 38th IEEE Photovoltaic Specialists Conference, PVSC 2012
AU - Oliveros, German A.
AU - Wang, Ray
AU - Seetharaman, Sridhar
AU - Ydstie, B. Erik
PY - 2012
Y1 - 2012
N2 - In this work we focus on the development of the Horizontal Ribbon Growth technique to produce highly pure silicon wafers for use in solar cells. We divide this preliminary work in two parts: a small scale experiment and the development of mathematical models to describe the crystallization phenomena. We begin by constructing a laboratory scale experiment to demonstrate the HRG concept using water as the working fluid. We made use of the fact that ice floats on water just like silicon would float on top of its melt. Therefore it is possible to conveniently test and analyze the operability of this technique. We find that the initial seeding process needs to be carefully controlled in order to extract a uniform wafer. Appropriate surface cooling and wall heating are necessary to guarantee the continuous formation of an ice film. We then develop simple mathematical models to predict the crystallization rate and thermal profiles of the system. We state that the driving force for crystallization is convective cooling and the film grows in one direction (downwards). Finally we propose how to validate the model using experimental data and how to extend the work to grow silicon ribbons.
AB - In this work we focus on the development of the Horizontal Ribbon Growth technique to produce highly pure silicon wafers for use in solar cells. We divide this preliminary work in two parts: a small scale experiment and the development of mathematical models to describe the crystallization phenomena. We begin by constructing a laboratory scale experiment to demonstrate the HRG concept using water as the working fluid. We made use of the fact that ice floats on water just like silicon would float on top of its melt. Therefore it is possible to conveniently test and analyze the operability of this technique. We find that the initial seeding process needs to be carefully controlled in order to extract a uniform wafer. Appropriate surface cooling and wall heating are necessary to guarantee the continuous formation of an ice film. We then develop simple mathematical models to predict the crystallization rate and thermal profiles of the system. We state that the driving force for crystallization is convective cooling and the film grows in one direction (downwards). Finally we propose how to validate the model using experimental data and how to extend the work to grow silicon ribbons.
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UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=84869418231&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1109/PVSC.2012.6318155
DO - 10.1109/PVSC.2012.6318155
M3 - Conference contribution
AN - SCOPUS:84869418231
SN - 9781467300643
T3 - Conference Record of the IEEE Photovoltaic Specialists Conference
SP - 2720
EP - 2722
BT - Program - 38th IEEE Photovoltaic Specialists Conference, PVSC 2012
Y2 - 3 June 2012 through 8 June 2012
ER -