THE PV SOLAR VALUE CHAIN

STARTING WITH CHEMICAL PROCESSES AND ENDING WITH MICROELECTRONIC TECHNIQUES,

THE PHOTOVOLTAIC (PV) VALUE CHAIN COMBINES A GREAT VARIETY OF EXPERTISE. CONNEXION TAKES
YOU THROUGH THE KEY STEPS, FROM THE SILICON RAW MATERIAL TO THE SOLAR MODULE.

1 MANUFACTURING SOLAR
GRADE SILICON 2 MANUFACTURING
WAFERS 3 MANUFACTURING
PV CELLS 4 MANUFACTURING
PV MODULES

Wafers PV solar
modules
The PV solar modules are now
ready to generate direct current.
Metallurgical grade silicon is made to remove defective wafers. The size of the modules depends
from quartz on the application.
Silicon is found only in combined form in nature.
Using an electrometallurgical process, it is Wafers texturing
produced from a mixture of quartz (SiO2), coal
Slicing wafers from ingots The wafers are placed in a bath Testing
and wood in a very high temperature furnace.
The ingots are sliced in wafer using to remove the surface damaged
Doping by The modules are tested in calibrated
Metallurgical silicon wire saws. A high-precision cutting by sawing and to texture their
is necessary for minimum waste: surface. This texture enhances
Metallurgical silicon is about 99% pure. To obtain a characteristics.
no more than 0.18 mm thick, the absorption of sunlight.
semiconductor
the PV solar industry; solar grade silicon the wafers can easily crack. junction, the wafers Frame
must be more than 99.999 999% pure. are doped in surface
with phosphorus or
boron by thermal
silicon Tailing, cylindrical grinding
and cutting of the ingots 3 heated to 800C.
Cracking of the
The extremes of the ingot, Finishing and mounting
trichlorosilane at high
the modules
temperatures (1100C)
in a reactor. The silicon is and the external surface The PV solar module is
deposited and obtained corrugations are eliminated This coating ensures more framed and equipped with
Shaping of the Junction
monocrystalline box a junction box for power
2 and surface passivation. connection.
nuggets called ingots
chunks. Using a vapor deposition
The square shape process, this coating also gives
obtained (step 3) allows solar cells their blue color.
the optimization of the
space in the modules
fabrication. Mtallisation Back
sealing
1 An electrical circuit is screen-printed layer
into the front or rear surface of the
EVA resin
wafer, to carry the collected current.
Strings of PV cells
Glass

JACQUES PARTOUCHE/ LE STUDIO DIDAPIX-Septembre 2012

Back contact photovoltaic cells

Back side
Crystallization of the silicon in ingots
Monocrystalline is obtained through
growth or pulling of a cylindrical ingot from
a monocrystal through the Czochralski
Cells encapsulation
process. The melting point is reached
at 1414C. After strings of cells being interconnected, they are
assembled with a sheet of glass, two foils for EVA resin

Solar grade silicon Connecting cells vacuum lamination process, the system is heated and
The cells are assembled and pressed: it is now a photovoltaic laminate.
Front side welded together to form multi-cell
strings.