Towards larger and thinner wafers used in photovoltaic

The main targets of the photovoltaic industry today is the development of wafer geometry to save manufacturing costs. These motivate the investigation of ways to increase wafer size and reduce wafer thickness systematically. Another motivation is the shortage of solar grade silicon as a feedstock for crystalline silicon technology. Recent technologies have shown the possibility of slicing larger and thinner wafers due to the accelerated and continuous development wire sawing and cutting/slicing technology. Wafers as large as 200 mm × 200 mm and as thin as 150 μm can be produced.