Purchasing Efficient Silicon Wafers For The Manufacturing Of Solar Products

21 March 2017
 Categories: Business, Blog


If your company is involved in the manufacturing and distribution of solar products containing photovoltaic cells, then you likely use many silicon wafers throughout the production process. These silicon wafers serve as the substrate that supports delicate electronic devices that are very small in size.

Since the quality of the silicon wafers you use can have an overall impact on the quality of your finished product, you should constantly be striving to source new and improved silicon wafers to put into your solar products. Here are two things that you can look for when purchasing silicon wafers that will increase the efficiency of the wafers your company is using.

1. Look for wafers that have the right electrical charge.

Silicon wafers are semiconductors when they are used in coordination with microelectronic components. To ensure that your components can function as efficiently as possible, it's essential that your silicon wafers have the right charge.

Be sure to ask about the donor impurity atoms added to the silicon mixture during manufacturing. Certain atoms will cause the silicon to turn into an n-type semiconductor (with a negative charge), while other types of atoms will transform the silicon into a p-type semiconductor (with a positive charge).

Purchasing the wafers with the charge best suited to meet the needs of your microelectronic components can make your finished solar products more efficient.

2. Look for wafers that are cleaned thoroughly before distribution.

Silicon wafers start their life as a large, circular log of material. A sharp saw blade is used to slice the log into thin sections, creating each individual wafer. The way that these wafers are cleaned after the cutting process takes place can have a significant effect on their efficiency in the future.

As you look to purchase silicon wafers for inclusion in your solar products, look for wafers that have been cleaned with a weak acid to remove any excess particles from the surface of the silicon. Excess particles, no matter how small, can interfere with the transmission of electrical signals between microelectronic components. Cleaning each silicon wafer with a weak acid ensures that all stray particles will be removed.

You should also check to see if the edges of the wafer have been etched. Etching can help remove any jagged edges created when particles removed from the top and bottom surface of the wafer adhere to the edges.

Looking for silicon wafers with the correct charge that have been cleaned properly can help you access wafers that will perform more efficiently within your solar products in the future.

For more information and options, contact silicon wafer producers in your area, such as Alsil Material.


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