What equipment is needed to make a solar cell?
I wаѕ wondering whаt equipment іt wουld take tο under gο something lіkе thаt. Yes I dο know іt іѕ nοt something cheap tο јυѕt mаkе. Thanks fοr аnу input.
I spent some time on the internet, a while ago, for a different similar question, and got nowhere.
I did find one or two pieces, in the $100k array, but I have no thought if a smaller version is available, and what else is required.
I reflect you have to do a lot of investigate on how to construct the cells, then look into what equipment is needed for each step, and there are many steps. There is silicon zone purifying equipment, slicing saws, polishing machines, diffusion furnaces, etching equipment, mask production equipment, lead bonding equipment, encapsulation equipment, to name a few.
Of course, you can shortcircuit some of the steps, for example, by buying purified silicon wafers instead of making them, but then you might as well buy the refined product.
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If you search the internet, you’ll certainly find ways to make very low power solar cells from common equipment, but I’ll take upon yourself that you want to make one with significant output.
If you can somehow take solar grade wafers (or maybe you could just use the back of a regular semiconductor wafer if you can get one that’s clean), then all you would need is a cover printer, the right chemicals, and a diffusion furnace. If you’re at a university, and they have a semiconductor administer lab, they may have all the stuff you need, already. A corporate lab (for example, at Agilent) would have this kind of stuff, too. If you wanted to do it at home, the cost would be prohibitive, and some perilous equipment would be involved.