The present invention generally relates to processes and apparatuses for manufacturing wafers. More particularly, the invention relates to processes and apparatuses for exfoliating the external surface of an ingot to more efficiently produce solar grade photovoltaic wafers and the like therefrom.
Conventionally, a wafer material such as monocrystalline silicon is processed into solar grade photovoltaic (“PV”) wafers by first creating a single crystalline cylindrical ingot of silicon. The ingot is created by melting high-purity semiconductor-grade wafer material in an inert chamber, such as one made of quartz. Dopant impurity atoms such as boron, phosphorus, arsenic, or antimony may be added to the molten wafer material in precise amounts (e.g., on the order of 1013 or 1016 atoms per cm3) to define the material as either a bulk n-type (negative) or p-type (positive) semiconductor, which gives the wafer material the desired electrical properties. Then, a rod-mounted seed crystal is dipped into the molten wafer material and slowly pulled upwards and rotated simultaneously to extract a preferably single-crystal cylindrical ingot. Controlling the temperature gradient, extraction rate, and rotation speed facilitates the production of a single ingot with only trace amounts of unwanted instabilities. The process is normally performed in an inert atmosphere such as argon.
Individual wafers are basically created by slicing a thin layer of the semiconductor material off from this larger ingot. Wafers may be square, rectangular or circular and are frequently used in the fabrication of integrated circuits and other micro or electronic devices, such as solar panels. In one example, circular wafers are sliced off the end of the cylindrical ingot by a diamond coated wire roughly 20 micrometers in diameter. The problem with this production method is that the diamond wire shaves a portion of the ingot into dust in a thickness equal to the diameter of the diamond coated wire. Thus, for each circular wafer created, at least 20 micrometers of wafer material is wasted as dust residue.
But, these circular wafers are not preferred for use with solar panels because square or rectangular wafers better maximize surface area exposure to sunlight energy. To make square or rectangular wafers, the stock cylindrical ingot is, instead, first squared into an elongated rectangular box shape approximately 1.5 meters long. This squaring process uses a similar conventional 20 micrometer diameter diamond coated wire. Similar to the above, portions of the exterior of the ingot are lost to dust as the diamond wire cuts through portions of the ingot to form the rectangular block. Furthermore, this squaring process requires relatively large chunks of valuable and expensive wafer material to be chopped off and thrown away to square the cylindrical ingot. From here, individual square or somewhat rectangular wafers are sliced off the end of the rectangular semiconductor block, as described above with respect to the circular wafers. While hundreds of relatively square or rectangular wafers ranging in thickness from 160 to 200 micrometers can be sliced off this rectangular semiconductor block, each wafer cut wastes an amount of wafer material equal to the width of the diamond wire cutting the semiconductor block. Another drawback in cutting wafers with a diamond-coated wire is that the saw can cause surface damage to the wafer that requires repair.
Recently, newer technologies have been developed to create additional, thinner wafers from existing wafers cut from the silicon ingot or rectangular silicon block, as described above. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 7,939,812 to Glavish et al., U.S. Pat. No. 7,982,197 to Smick et al., U.S. Pat. No. 7,989,784 to Glavish et al., and U.S. Pat. No. 8,044,374 to Ryding et al., the contents of each reference are herein incorporated by reference in their entireties, disclose a hydrogen ion implanter used to exfoliate silicon wafers to produce a thinner lamina of crystalline semiconductor material. In this respect, the ion implanter penetrates the surface of a silicon wafer to a certain depth. This penetrated layer of silicon can then be peeled back away from the silicon wafer (i.e., exfoliated)—effectively creating a thinner silicon wafer using the original silicon wafer as a workpiece. Using this exfoliation process, a silicon wafer workpiece on the order of 160-200 micrometers can be used to create 8-10 new silicon wafers having a thickness of approximately 20 micrometers, with nearly no silicon material wasted during the process. Further to this concept, U.S. Pat. Nos. 8,058,626 and 8,089,050, both to Purser et al., the contents of which are both herein incorporated by reference, disclose embodiments for creating a modified ribbon-shaped ion beam having an elongated cross-section normal to the beam direction for use in the aforementioned process for implanting ions into the surface of a substrate.
The current exfoliation processes, such as those described above, require two steps to create a sheet of exfoliated wafer material. More specifically, individual wafers are exfoliated from an ingot in one process step and then the exfoliated layer or wafer is removed from the ingot in a second process step. This two-step conventional process is costly and time consuming by virtue of to its multi-step nature. Furthermore, this conventional process produces a large number of individual exfoliated sheets of wafer material that are relatively expensive to handle and stamp into individual wafers.
Typically, conventional solar cells are manufactured from silicon produced through the Czochralski process, which can result in undesirably high oxygen content (e.g., 1018 oxygen atoms per cubic centimeter) as a result of using a crucible. Impurities in silicon wafers, such as oxygen, reduce the voltage and current capacities of the solar cell. As such, lower oxygen content silicon such as float zone silicon (“FZ silicon”) are more desirable as FZ silicon produces more efficient solar cells. FZ silicon is made in a process called vertical zone melting, wherein a polycrystalline rod of ultra-pure electronic grade silicon is passed through an RF heating coil to create a localized molten zone. A seed crystal is used at one end of the rod to start crystal ingot growth. The vertical zone melting process is carried out in an evacuated chamber or in an inert gas purge. Unlike the Czochralski process, the molten zone carries impurities such as oxygen away from the silicon ingot during growth (e.g., because most impurities are more soluble in the melt than the crystal), thereby reducing the impurity concentration within the silicon ingot. As such, FZ silicon is relatively more pure than silicon made from the Czochralski process. But, the problem with FZ silicon is that it must be cut into thicker than desired wafer sizes (e.g., on the order of 300-500 microns in thickness) because the rigid material properties prevent known methods (e.g., a diamond wire) from cutting the material any thinner. Thus, silicon wafers made from FZ silicon or the like are currently cost prohibitive due to material costs and limitations regarding the currently available minimum manufacturing thickness of the wafers.
There exists, therefore, a significant need in the art for processes and related apparatuses for more efficiently producing square and rectangular wafers from an FZ silicon stock ingot. Such processes and related apparatuses may include steps for mounting a square or rectangular FZ silicon ingot, penetrating a selected layer of the outer surface of the ingot, exfoliating away this bombarded layer of wafer material along one or more sides of the rectangular or square FZ silicon ingot, and conveying that strip of material to a press to be sliced into individual wafers, all without the waste associated with cutting or slicing the ingot into individual wafers with a diamond saw. Such processes and apparatuses may further be able to simultaneously exfoliate and remove a single continuous sheet of wafer material from the ingot. The present invention fulfills these needs and provides further related advantages.
One method for manufacturing a silicon wafer as disclosed herein, includes mounting a float zone silicon work piece for exfoliation, energizing a microwave device for generating an energized beam sufficient for penetrating an outer surface layer of the float zone silicon work piece, exfoliating the outer surface layer of the float zone silicon work piece with the energized beam and removing the exfoliated outer surface layer from the float zone silicon work piece as the silicon wafer having a thickness less than 100 micrometers, or more preferably a thickness of 2-70 microns or 4-20 microns. In one embodiment, the float zone silicon work piece may be a pre-cut float zone silicon work piece having a thickness of 160-600 microns and an oxygen content less than 1016 oxygen atoms per cubic centimeter.
The method may also include steps for cutting the silicon wafer into multiple silicon wafers and moving or conveying each of those multiple silicon wafers along a conveyor and away from the float zone silicon work piece. In one embodiment, the silicon wafers may be square. In another embodiment, the silicon wafers may be rectangular and be exfoliated from a rectangular float zone silicon work piece. Furthermore, the microwave device preferably includes a klystron for generating an energized beam that includes an ion beam or a proton beam and may approximately span the width of the float zone silicon work piece. In one embodiment, the energized beam may move relative to the float zone silicon work piece and include an implantation density of approximately 5×1014 to 5×1016 ions/cm2.
In an alternative embodiment, the a method for manufacturing a silicon wafer includes mounting a float zone silicon work piece having an oxygen content less than 1016 oxygen atoms per cubic centimeter, energizing a microwave device for generating an energized beam having an implantation density of approximately 5×1014 to 5×1016 ions/cm2 for penetrating an outer surface layer of the float zone silicon work piece, exfoliating the outer surface layer of the float zone silicon work piece with the energized beam, and removing the exfoliated outer surface layer from the float zone silicon work piece as the silicon wafer. Preferably, the silicon wafer has a thickness less than 100 micrometers, and more specifically a thickness of 4-20 microns. Additionally, the silicon wafers may be cut into multiple silicon wafers and moved away from the work piece along a conveyor.
Additionally, float zone silicon work piece may include a pre-cut float zone silicon work piece having a thickness of 160-600 microns, which may form square silicon wafers having a thickness of 2-70 microns. In this embodiment, the microwave device may include a klystron for generating the energized beam, which may include an ion beam or a proton beam. The energized beam may also move relative to the float zone silicon work piece or be approximately the same width as a rectangular float zone silicon work piece.
In another alternative method, manufacturing a plurality of silicon wafers may include steps for mounting a pre-cut float zone silicon work piece having an oxygen content less than 1016 oxygen atoms per cubic centimeter and having a thickness of 160-600 microns, energizing a microwave device for generating an energized beam sufficient for penetrating an outer surface layer of the float zone silicon work piece, exfoliating the outer surface layer of the float zone silicon work piece with the energized beam, wherein the energized beam moves relative to the float zone silicon work piece, removing the exfoliated outer surface layer from the float zone silicon work piece as the silicon wafer comprising a thickness of 2-70 microns, cutting the silicon wafer into multiple silicon wafers, and moving each of the multiple silicon wafers along a conveyor.
An apparatus as disclosed herein for manufacturing a plurality of silicon wafers from a float zone silicon work piece, may include a mount for selectively receiving and retaining the float zone silicon work piece having an exfoliation surface. A microwave may produce an energized beam that has an implantation density of approximately 5×1014 to 5×1016 ions/cm2. The microwave is preferably positioned relative to the mount to emit the energized beam in the direction of the exfoliation surface, wherein relative movement of the microwave and the float zone silicon work piece exfoliates a silicon wafer having a thickness of less than 100 microns. A conveyor then longitudinally carries each of the plurality of silicon wafers exfoliated from the exfoliation surface away from the float zone silicon work piece.
In a preferred embodiment, the microwave includes a klystron or a DC accelerator, the energized beam includes an ion beam or a proton beam, and may be an elongated beam approximately the width of the exfoliation surface. Additionally, the float zone silicon work piece may include a rectangular shape and have an oxygen content less than 1016 oxygen atoms per cubic centimeter. Preferably, the silicon wafer exfoliated from the float zone silicon work piece has a thickness of 2-70 microns.
In additional alternative embodiments, the process for manufacturing wafers as disclosed herein includes the steps of mounting an ingot as a work piece in a manner that permits rotation about a longitudinal axis of rotation and rotating the ingot about the longitudinal axis of rotation. Preferably, the ingot is in the shape of a cylinder and carried by a rotatable shaft mountable to a rotor that facilitates the rotation of the cylindrical ingot about its longitudinal axis of rotation. The ingot may be made from monocrystalline or polycrystalline silicon. A microwave device for generating an energized beam sufficient for penetrating an outer surface layer of the rotating ingot is then energized. Accordingly, the outer surface layer of the rotating ingot is exfoliated with the energized beam. As the ingot continues to rotate, the exfoliated outer surface layer can then be removed from the ingot work piece as a continuous planar strip that can be cut into a wafer. At this time, the continuous planar strip may be transported along a conveyor moving at approximately the same speed as and preferably substantially synchronized with the angular velocity of the rotating ingot. In the event the ingot is incrementally rotated, the conveyor would also incrementally move the continuous planar strip forward in a similar incremental movement. Of course, the continuous strip may be cut or stamped by a press into a plurality of wafers.
Additionally, the wafer manufacturing process may also include the step of cooling the ingot at a penetration point where the energized beam bombards the outer surface layer of said ingot to prevent the chemical properties of the ingot material from changing as a result of increased local temperatures. Such a cooling step can be particularly preferred when the energized beam operates at an energy level between 0.15-1.7 megaelectron volts. The microwave device may be a klystron that generates an energized beam that includes a proton beam or an ion beam. Preferably, the microwave device is calibrated to maximize a Q value. Additionally, the energized beam may include multiple energized beams that simultaneously exfoliate respective outer surface layers of the rotating ingot, to simultaneously create multiple respective exfoliated outer surface layers that can be peeled or removed from the ingot work piece. In one embodiment, the energized beam(s) are approximately the width of the finalized wafer product. For example, the wafer may be square and have a width of between 160-200 mm with an outer surface layer thickness between 3-30 micrometers.
In another process for manufacturing wafers as disclosed herein, an ingot formed in the shape of a cylinder and carried by a rotatable shaft is mounted to a rotor capable of rotating the cylindrical ingot about its longitudinal axis of rotation. Next, the rotor activates and rotates the cylindrical ingot such that an energized beam generated by a microwave device can penetrate a predetermined outer surface layer of the rotating ingot. This permits the manufacturing process to exfoliate the outer surface layer away from the cylindrical ingot work piece as a continuous planar strip along a conveyor synchronized with the rotating ingot. The cylindrical ingot work piece may be cooled at the penetration point where the energized beam bombards the outer surface layer, to prevent the chemical properties of the ingot material from changing as a result of increased localized temperatures. The continuous strip of material is then stamped into a plurality of wafers usable in, for example, a solar panel or the like.
The microwave device may be calibrated to maximize a Q value so that an energized beam having an energy level between 0.15-1.7 megaelectron volts efficiently penetrates the outer surface of the rotating cylindrical ingot. In one embodiment, the microwave device is a klystron that generates a proton or ion energized beam. In another embodiment, the microwave device utilizes Electron Cyclotron Resonance to produce high current ions. Moreover, the process may include the use of multiple energized beams that simultaneously exfoliate respective outer surface sections of the rotating ingot, to more efficiently exfoliate the outer surface of the ingot along its entire vertical height. The energized beam is preferably approximately the width of the wafer product, such as between 160-200 mm. The cylindrical ingot may be made from monocrystalline or polycrystalline silicon and be rotated incrementally so that approximately an outer surface layer thickness between 3-30 micrometers is exfoliated.
The apparatus for manufacturing a wafer includes a rotator configured to selectively mountably receive and rotate an ingot work piece about a longitudinal axis of rotation. The ingot is preferably cylindrical and may be made from monocrystalline or polycrystalline silicon. A microwave for producing an energized beam is positioned relative to the rotator such that the emitted energized beam aligns with the longitudinal axis of rotation of the rotating ingot. The energized beam is preferably of an energy level sufficient to penetrate an outer surface layer of the rotating ingot. A water cooler or an air cooler positioned proximate to a penetration point where the energized beam bombards the outer surface layer of the ingot may control the surface temperature therein during the manufacturing. The apparatus also includes a conveyor synchronized with the rotating ingot to transversely carry as a continuous planar strip an exfoliated outer surface layer away from the rotating ingot. This continuous planar strip is then cut into one or more wafers by a cutting mechanism. In this respect, such a cutting mechanism may include a stamping die that cuts the continuous strip into multiple wafers with each stroke. The final wafer product is preferably of a width between 160-200 mm and a thickness between 3-30 micrometers. In a particularly preferred embodiment, the microwave is a klystron that includes an energy accelerator. To this end, the energized beam may be an ion beam or a proton beam, and is preferred to be elongated beam approximately the width of said wafer.
Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following more detailed description, when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, which illustrate, by way of example, the principles of the invention.
The accompanying drawings illustrate the invention. In such drawings:
As shown in the drawings for purposes of illustration, the present invention for the improved processes for manufacturing wafers is shown generally with respect to the flowchart in
As shown in
Persons of ordinary skill in the art will readily recognize that the above-described process for creating the ingot 22 in accordance with step 100 may vary depending on the desired application and end characteristics of the wafer. For example, one may vary the composition of the melted wafer material 10, the amount and/or types of dopants 14 introduced into and mixed with the melted wafer material 10, the temperature in the inert chamber 12, the angular rotating speed of the shaft 18, and the rate of extracting the seed crystal 16. In this respect, the wafer material creation process 100 should be considered well known to those skilled in the art. In a particularly preferred embodiment, the ingot 22 is an FZ silicon ingot made by the vertical zone melting process to reduce the number of impurities therein, especially oxygen impurities.
Once the ingot 22 has been created during step 100, the next step 102 in accordance with
The next step as shown in
The next step as shown in
During step 108, the bombarded surface of the ingot 22 increases in temperature as a result of the proton beam 36, 37. As such, a cooling mechanism is preferably utilized to cool the outer surface 40 of the ingot 22 to prevent adverse or unexpected changes in the material properties of the ingot 22 due to heating. In this respect, it is particularly important to cool the area in and around the ingot 22 being exfoliated. Water or air circulation-based cooling devices may be used with the processes disclosed herein to provide either direct or indirect cooling of the ingot 22.
The thickness of the exfoliated layer 44 is exaggerated in
In general, the beam 36 or the elongated beam 37 needs to energize a portion of the ingot 22 along its length thereof in accordance with the desired width of the resultant wafer. This process may vary depending on the type of beam 36, 37 and the length of the ingot 22 created in step 100. For example,
Alternatively, as shown in
The next step as shown in
The rotation of the ingot 22 permits simultaneous exfoliation and removal of exfoliated material in a single, continuous sheet. More specifically, as the ingot 22 rotates the portion of the outer surface 40 of the ingot 22 being exfoliated changes as the angular position of the ingot 22 changes. Simultaneously, this rotation causes the layer of exfoliated wafer 44 material to peel off of the ingot 22 as the ingot 22 rotates. Since the exfoliated layer 44 continuously peels off the ingot 22 as its angular position changes, a single continuous sheet of wafer material is produced. That is, the rotating ingot 22 “unwinds” in the same manner that a roll of paper or a coil of metal. This process provides a large savings over conventional exfoliation processes since a continuous sheet of exfoliated wafer material is produced.
The removal step 110 may produce a ribbon of one or more substrate layers 44, 44′, 44n (e.g., as shown in
This new ribbon or layer 44 of metal substrate with PV material is then conveyed away from the ingot 22 during step 112 for subsequent stamping 114 into individual wafers (
Of course, the processes and apparatuses described above should not be limited only to use with monocrystalline silicon ingots. Such processes and apparatuses may be applied to ingots of various shapes, sizes and materials, such as any type of metal material cast into a shape suitable for further processing as disclosed herein, including FZ silicon.
For example, the ingot 22 may have a polygonal cross section. An ingot having such a shape may be rotated about its longitudinal axis in the same manner as a cylindrical ingot. Most rotationally processed work pieces (i.e. work pieces turned on a rotator or lathe) must be cylindrical so the tool (i.e. lathe cutter) remains in contact with the work piece throughout the entire 360-degree rotation thereof. The exfoliation process, however, does not require a fixed position tool to remain in constant contact with the ingot. Instead, an energized beam that can accommodate the varying rotational diameter of a non-circular, rotating object preferably processes the work piece ingot. That is, the energized beam bombards the outer surface of the ingot and penetrates a layer of wafer material even though the diameter of the rotating ingot has a polygonal cross section that varies angularly. Therefore, ingots having a polygonal cross section may be exfoliated in the same manner as cylindrical ingots, as discussed in greater detail above.
Additionally, the wafer material is not limited to monocrystalline silicon. Any suitable material known in the art for construction of wafers may be used, including, but not limited to, float zone silicon (“FZ silicon”), polycrystalline silicon, cadmium telluride, sapphire crystal, and copper indium gallium selenide. Moreover, the wafer material can be either an n-type or p-type material. Obviously, the type and concentration of dopants and the specific processing parameters, such as temperatures, may vary depending on the choice of wafer material.
In another alternative aspect of the embodiments disclosed herein, the improved processes for manufacturing wafers could include the use of float zone silicon or FZ silicon. In this respect, the manufacturing process could be similar to the apparatuses and processes described above with respect to steps (100)-(114). Alternatively, instead of using the cylindrical ingot 22 as shown in
Alternatively, the exfoliation process disclosed herein could be used with float zone silicon wafers that have already been cut into thicknesses on the order of 200-600 microns by methods known in the art. In this respect, these existing or pre-cut wafers could be exfoliated to form multiple thinner wafers on the order of 2-70 micrometers, or more preferably on the order of 4-20 micrometers. For example, a 300 micrometer pre-cut float zone wafer could be exfoliated with the processes disclosed herein to produce 12 float zone wafers having a 25 micrometer thickness. Such pre-cut float zone wafers would essentially be used as a work piece in place of the silicon block 62 described below in more detail.
Once the silicon block 62 has been created using methods known in the art, the block 62 may be mounted for preparation of the exfoliation process, in accordance with the embodiments described above, or other embodiments known in the art. Although, one difference is that the silicon block 62 need not be rotated as described above with respect to the cylindrical silicon ingot 22 because the work surfaces 64, 66 provide a planar exfoliating surface as opposed to a rounded or cylindrical work surface that requires rotation about its axis to produce a flat wafer material.
In this respect,
One particular advantage of the embodiments disclosed herein is the use of the exfoliation process with float zone (i.e., “FZ” silicon) or other silicon materials having relatively lower oxygen content (e.g., 1015 oxygen atoms per cubic centimeter). On one hand, current solar grade silicon material used to create silicon wafers sized for use in solar panels have a relatively higher oxygen content (e.g., 1018 oxygen atoms per cubic centimeter) and are produced by the Czochralski process. These silicon wafers only have an efficiency of 19%-20%, but are economical to produce. On the other hand, silicon materials having a comparatively low oxygen content and therefore higher efficiency (e.g., float zone silicon wafers have an efficiency of approximately 24.7%) must be cut into larger than desired sizes (e.g., on the order of 300-500 microns in thickness) because the rigid material properties prevent known methods (e.g., a diamond wire) from cutting the material any thinner. Thus, silicon wafers made from float zone silicon or the like are currently cost prohibitive due to material costs and the currently available minimum manufacturing thickness of the wafers.
Accordingly, the exfoliation processes described above are particularly useful in economically producing silicon wafers from a higher grade silicon material (e.g., float zone silicon) that has a relatively lower oxygen content and a smaller thickness (e.g., 2-70 microns, and preferably 4-20 microns, as opposed to 100+ microns). This is accomplished by bombarding the surface area structure of the float zone silicon with the aforementioned methods for ion implantation, such as by way of a DC accelerator or other beam having enhanced energy levels. The surface area bombardment is particularly preferred over known methods because the surface area tension of higher purity silicon material prohibits physically sawing off (e.g., by a diamond wire) wafers to economical thicknesses (e.g., under 100 microns).
As shown in
Although several embodiments have been described in detail for purposes of illustration, various modifications may be made without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention. Accordingly, the invention is not to be limited, except as by the appended claims.
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