NA PV Materials Standards Meeting Summary – July 2012

By Kevin Nguyen, SEMI

The SEMI North America PV Materials Committee held its meeting in conjunction with Intersolar North America on July 10-11 in San Francisco, California.   A brief summary of the meeting is found in the Committee Express Report.  The meeting drew over 25 participants.

Document 5158A (Coated Glass Specification) generated lively discussion among active participants.  Consensus was not reached in passing the document, therefore, it was returned to the task force for rework.  On a positive note, document 5391, 5156A and 5242A passed technical review and are on their way for procedural review prior to publication.

• Document 5158A - New Standard: Specification for Anti-Reflective-Coated Glass, Used In Crystalline Silicon Photovoltaic Modules - Failed

• Document 5156A - New Standard: Specifications for Hydrogen Peroxide, Used In Photovoltaic Applications – Passed

• Document 5242A - New Standard: Guide for Fluorine (F₂), Used In Photovoltaic Applications – Passed
• Document 5391 - Auxiliary Information: Research Report On Interlaboratory Study To Establish Precision Statements For SEMI PV13, Test Method For Contactless Excess-Charge-Carrier Recombination Lifetime Measurement In Silicon Wafers, Ingots, And Bricks Using An Eddy-Current Sensor - Passed

In an effort to establish precision statements for SEMI PV10 (INAA) and SEMI PV25 (SIMS) test methods, two round robins for interlaboratory study were authorized from this meeting. In addition, several new activities and revisions were also approved including:

• Document 5438 New Standard: Test Method for the Measurement of Oxygen Concentration in PV Silicon Materials by Inert Gas Fusion Infrared Detection Method
• Document 5394 New Standard: Test Method for QSS Microwave PCD Measurements of Carrier Decay and Lifetime (SNARF was revised)
• Document 5439, Revision to SEMI PV13-1110 Test Method for Contactless Excess-Charge-Carrier Recombination Lifetime Measurement in Silicon Wafers, Ingots, and Bricks Using an Eddy-Current Sensor
• Document 5440, Revision to SEMI PV10-1110 Test Method for Instrumental Neutron Activation Analysis (INAA) of Silicon

The committee meeting will reconvene in October 30-31, 2012 in San Jose, CA during the NA Standards Fall Meetings.  If you have any questions or would like to join our one of our regional task forces please contact Kevin Nguyen at knguyen@semi.org. For more information on SEMI Standards activities or upcoming meetings, please visit: www.semi.org/standards  or www.pvgroup.org/standards

SEMI PV Group, The Grid - July 2012