Solar tech thread?

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Smidge204

Well-known member
Joined
Nov 24, 2010
Messages
940
So similar to how there's a battery tech thread I thought maybe one for solar tech would be appropriate?

Was just reading this article I got off of Slashdot about a new manufacturing technique for solar that manages just 40 cents per watt.

http://www.technologyreview.com/energy/39887/

The process begins in a vacuum chamber, where a high-energy beam of hydrogen ions bombards three-millimeter-thick disks of crystalline silicon. The ions accumulate at a precise depth of 20 micrometers, which is controlled by the voltage of the beam. Once enough ions accumulate, a robotic arm quickly removes the wafers, which are then placed inside a furnace, where the ions in the silicon form microscopic bubbles of hydrogen gas that expand, creating tiny fractures within the silicon wafer and causing a 20-micrometer-thick layer of silicon to flake off.
Basically they reduce waste and simplify wafer production by using a spalling technique instead of saws (where you'd lose the kerf width). Pretty interesting!

Edit: Looks like I'm a little late :lol:
=Smidge=
 
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