PV Marking Standard Addresses Traceability of Wafers and Solar Cells to Prevent Fraud, Theft and Counterfeiting
PV Marking Standard Addresses Traceability of Wafers and Solar Cells to Prevent Fraud, Theft and Counterfeiting
By Kevin Nguyen, SEMI Standards
SEMI published two new standards for marking crystalline silicon based photovoltaic cells, wafers and brick. These specifications are:
- SEMI PV29-0212 Specification for Front Surface Marking of PV Silicon Wafers with Two-Dimensional Matrix Symbols
- SEMI PV32-0312 Specification for Marking of PV Silicon Brick Face and PV Wafer Edge
PV29 specifies a 14x14 data matrix code mark which is laser inscribed uniquely for wafers and cells. The mark can be easily applied and readable by a machine. These marks are used to identify and trace wafers and solar cells, which can be used to prevent fraud, theft and counterfeiting. Istvan Gyoery and Peter Wagner, the authors, said “Unique identification of individual solar cells regarding their manufacturer and year of manufacturing throughout the manufacturing process of solar cells and modules and throughout the lifetime of the solar cell/module are traced.” By utilization of wafer mark, it also reduces warranty cost of solar cells/modules as each faulty solar cell can be easily and uniquely be traced back to its manufacturer. Therefore fewer resources will be spent for solving warranty issues.
PV32 is also a marking standard. Unlike PV29, this standard specifies brick slice code (BSC) that consists of pattern of grooves applied to the polished side surface of a silicon brick by fast laser scribe process. This pattern then appears as a mark on the individual wafers outside of the active area of solar cells after the brick is sliced. This mark is readable from both the top and bottom sides of the wafer and is independent of the positional orientation of the wafer.
Increasing requirements for yield-up and cost-down in PV wafer and solar cell manufacturing lines can be addressed by introducing standardized marking formats such as PV29 and PV32. These can enable continuous improvement of quality control throughout the entire process chain for producing c-Si based PV solar cell modules.
If you have any questions about participation or would like to join our PV Wafer Traceability task force, please contact Kevin Nguyen at knguyen@semi.org. For more information on Standards activities at SEMI or upcoming meetings, please visit: www.semi.org/standards or www.pvgroup.org/standards
