A U.S. view of silicon production processesOne of the objectives of the Low-Cost Solar Array Project is the demonstration of the practicality of processes for producing silicon, suitable for fabricating solar cells for terrestrial applications, at prices less than $14/kg. Approaches being investigated are related to a metallurgical silicon/silane/silicon process, a metallurgical silicon/dichlorosilane/Siemens-type process, and a silicon tetrachloride-zinc reduction process. There is a great probability that the first process will yield semiconductor grade Si at a price less than $14/kg. The second process appears to be capable of providing polysilicon with a purity equivalent to the present commercial semiconductor grade silicon at a price of about $20/kg. An important part of the program is the investigation of the effects of impurities on the performance of solar cells.
Document ID
19820040577
Acquisition Source
Legacy CDMS
Document Type
Conference Proceedings
Authors
Lutwack, R. (California Institute of Technology, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena CA, United States)