Photovoltaic manufacturers embrace some laser use, but balk at laser marking

摘要

The industrial laser is one of thekey enabling technologies for cheap and massive production of photovoltaic (PV) systems. It also offers considerable potential for developing new tools for PV system manufacturing. The precision and flexibility of laser technology for depositing heat energy locally makes it ideal for melting, stimulating diffusion of dopants in a substrate, or separating zones by cutting through thin layers of active or conductive material. Laser technology can also mark individual wafers with unique identifiers for process traceability and control. Some of these potential applications have been more widely accepted by the PV industry than others, however.