Bruker Energy + Supercon, PVA TePla to Develop Monocrystalline Si-Growing Process

Bruker Energy & Supercon Technologies announced that it has entered into a co-operation agreement with PVA TePla to jointly develop a highly efficient monocrystalline Si-growing process for application in photovoltaics.

The new concept is based on using strong magnetic field that is generated by a new superconducting crystal growth magnet (SC-CGM) type, which is being developed at Bruker Energy.

The SC-CGM is likely to be combined with a crystal puller at the Competence Center for Industrial Crystal Growth of PVA TePla located in Wettenberg, Germany. Too much of oxygen content in the structure of the crystal often degrades the solar cell efficiency. The oxygen stems derived from the Si-Oxide is used for the Czochralski process.

When the magnetic field is applied with the special process control, the melt flow is expected to be dampened and as a result,  oxygen is transported to the crystal. This offers crystal lattice that is more homogenous. Both the companies expect the initial results of the joint development in spring 2011.