Solar Overview
THIS SOLAR MARKET PROVIDES AN ESPECIALLY LARGE AND INTERESTING OPPORTUNITY FOR SIGEN. TODAY, IN CRYSTALLINE SOLAR CELLS AND MODULES, THE CHALLENGE TO MATCH THE DYNAMIC GROWTH OF THE THIN-FILM SECTOR IS UNLIKELY TO BE REALIZED BY DEVELOPMENTS IN CELL TECHNOLOGY ALONE. THE INITIAL COST FOR THE CELL MANUFACTURERS STARTS WITH THE WAFER, AND A NEW APPROACH FOR THE WAFER PRODUCTION SHIFTS THE PARADIGM OF THE INEVITABLE AND COSLTY KERF-LOSS CAUSED BY TODAY'S SAWING PROCESS.
SiGen is developing a novel technology called PolyMax™, which provides a disruptive new capability for wafer generation by cleaving the wafers in contrast to the destructive sawing process. There are two primary types of solar cells – thin film and crystalline silicon. The thin film cells have excellent silicon utilization but suffer from poor conversion efficiency. The crystalline silicon cells typically have high conversion efficiencies but require excessive amounts of precious silicon. The SiGen PolyMax addresses multiple issues of the current wafering technology and market conditions, namely the cost aspects of wafering and the technical barriers to wafer thickness reduction. In addition, SiGen's PolyMax process is a "green" process since there is no sawing, grinding, or other mechanical thinning of wafers. Today, silicon is the major (approx 60%) cost component of solar cells. With SiGen's process, the cost of producing solar cells with high efficiencies will be dramatically reduced, further stimulating an already exploding market.