How Monocrystalline Silicon Solar Panels Are Made

Monocrystalline solar panels are produced from one large silicon block and are produced in silicon wafer formats.

How monocrystalline silicon solar panels are made. Monocrystalline silicon is generally created by one of several methods that involve melting high purity semiconductor grade silicon only a few parts per million of impurities and the use of a seed to initiate the formation of a continuous single crystal. This makes them more efficient though more expensive than the newer and cheaper thin film and polycrystalline solar panel. Both monocrystalline and polycrystalline solar panels have cells made of silicon wafers. In these cells the silicon has a single continuous crystal lattice structure with almost no defects or impurities.

These cells are made from pure monocrystalline silicon. Monocrystalline solar panels also known for its dark black hue on its surface. We then dip a small piece of a monocrystalline silicon into this melt and when we draw it out slowly we form a big crystal. In monocrystalline solar panels each module is made from a single silicon crystal.

Each of the individual solar cells contain a silicon wafer that is made of a single crystal of silicon. Monocrystalline solar panel are also called single crystalline silicon solar panel. Because the cell is composed of a single crystal the electrons that generate a flow of electricity have more room to move. The manufacturing process involves cutting individual wafers of silicon that can be affixed onto a solar panel.

Monocrystalline solar panels get their name from how they are made. The silicon used to make these solar panels are high in purity. Mono crystalline silicon cells are more efficient than polycrystalline or amorphous solar cells. To build a monocrystalline or polycrystalline panel wafers are assembled into rows and columns to form a rectangle covered with a glass sheet and framed together.

The single crystal is formed using the czochralski method in which a seed crystal is placed into a vat of molten pure silicon at a high temperature. These silicon crystal are cylindrical in shape. To make solar cells the raw materials silicon dioxide of either quartzite gravel or crushed quartz are first placed into an electric arc furnace where a carbon arc is applied to release the the products are carbon dioxide and molten silicon. To form monocrystalline silicon we use a silicon melt so we heat up silicon until it melts.

To increase the efficiency and maintain the cost the solar cells are cut off from all its edges. This process is normally performed in an inert atmosphere such as argon and in an inert crucible such as quartz to avoid impurities that would affect the crystal uniformity. Because these solar panel are made of single piece of silicon crystal. It is easy to recognize which panel is a monocrystalline solar panel because they are typically black or iridescent blue in color.