Antireflective black silicon technology to slash solar cell production costs by 23.5 percent
To make a conventional solar cell, manufacturers must first remove the saw damage, then texturize the wafer surface, and then apply an antireflective coating.
To make a black silicon cell using Natcore’s proprietary process, manufacturers would be able to replace the texture etch with a black silicon etch which in itself would create a highly effective antireflective coating.
The 23.5% of estimated savings derive from a streamlining of the production process whereby a silicon wafer is processed into a black silicon solar cell. The most expensive part of the solar cell process – the equipment and material costs associated with high-temperature chemical vapour deposition of a silicon nitride antireflective coating – is completely eliminated.
Using a “bottom up” manufacturing cost estimating methodology, analysts calculated the production cost of a conventional silicon solar cell to be 17¢ per watt. In comparison, the study projected that cells made using Natcore’s black silicon process would cost about 13¢ per watt.
“When solar companies are scrambling to save fractions of a cent, a saving of 3¢ – 4¢ per watt is momentous,” says Dr. Dennis Flood, Natcore’s co-founder and Chief Technology Officer.
In addition to the dramatic cost reduction, Natcore’s test, which was conducted using monocrystalline silicon, had an important environmental benefit: it eliminated the need for silane, a highly toxic gas that combusts upon exposure to air. Natcore may plan a similar test using polycrystalline silicon at a later date.
“We knew there would be a cost saving,” says Chuck Provini, Natcore’s president and CEO. “We were surprised that it was so large. In fact, production-cost savings of this magnitude will likely overshadow any power gains of black silicon and will make Natcore’s technology a must-have for the world’s solar cell manufacturers.
Visit Natcore at www.natcoresolar.com
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