Assessment of present state-of-the-art sawing technology of large diameter ingots for solar sheet material

The objective of this program is to assess the present state-of-the-art sawing technology of large diameter silicon ingots (3 inch and 4 inch diameter) for solar sheet materials. During this period, work has progressed in three areas: (1) slicing of the ingots with the multiblade slurry saw and the I.D. saw, (2) characterization of the sliced wafers, and (3) analysis of direct labor, expendable material costs, and wafer productivity.