The article discusses why most mainstream manufacturers in the photovoltaic industry still rely on mortar wafer cutting instead of diamond wire technology. The production of photovoltaic modules involves four key stages: polysilicon production, ingot slicing, battery manufacturing, and module assembly. This paper focuses primarily on the slicing process, which can be carried out in one or two steps.
First, it's important to understand the production of primary polycrystalline silicon used for ingots, including both square ingots and round bars. The ingot-making process consists of three main steps, each producing silicon with different quality characteristics. Monocrystalline silicon is the purest form, more expensive, but offers higher efficiency when fabricated into solar cells. Polycrystalline silicon has more impurities, lower cost, and moderate efficiency. There is also a newer type called "single crystal," which sits between monocrystalline and polycrystalline, but hasn't gained widespread adoption yet.
The slicing process involves cutting the polycrystalline silicon ingot into thin wafers. Traditionally, this is done using a steel wire coated with silicon carbide and slurry. However, diamond wire technology has been gaining attention as a potential replacement. Unlike the steel wire, the diamond is electroplated onto the wire, offering a more efficient cutting method.
In recent years, there have been discussions about diamond wire replacing traditional methods, but actual progress has been limited. At the EUPVSEC conference in 2012, researchers explored the reasons behind the delay, whether the market would shift toward diamond wire, and when that transition might occur.
Currently, all wafers are cut using wire technology, and the process has remained largely unchanged over the past decade. With the expansion of the industry and rising costs, manufacturers are now looking for alternatives to improve efficiency and reduce expenses.
Diamond wire offers several advantages over steel wire. It cuts faster—up to 2-3 times quicker—and increases machine productivity by more than 1.5 times. It also eliminates the need for costly and hard-to-handle mortar, and consumes fewer single-piece materials.
However, economic factors remain a major barrier. Interviews with over 50 industry participants revealed that while many large manufacturers are experimenting with diamond wire, few have fully adopted it outside Japan. One reason is the high initial cost of diamond wire, which was previously priced at $250–$300 per kilometer, compared to just $1.28 per kilometer for steel wire. Although the price gap has narrowed slightly, the impact on overall costs is still significant, especially since diamond wire makes up a larger portion of non-silicon processing costs.
Switching to diamond wire requires substantial capital investment, including replacing slicing machines and cleaning equipment. For manufacturers, this represents a major financial hurdle, even if they have the cash flow. Most are waiting for proven results before making the switch.
Another challenge is supplier risk. While diamond wire has shown promise in cutting single crystals, its performance on other types of silicon is still unproven. Issues like downtime and inefficiency during the slicing process can offset its benefits.
Despite these challenges, the market is gradually shifting. Japanese manufacturers have already demonstrated the effectiveness of diamond wire, and it's expected to gain traction in the single-crystal and mono-crystal markets. By 2017, we predict that the market share of these types of wafers could rise from 40% to around 60%.
Suppliers like Asahi, JFS, Noritake, and others are capable of meeting growing demand. New entrants such as MeyerBurger, Bekaert, and Chinese and Taiwanese companies are also entering the market. As capital returns to the industry, the adoption of diamond wire is expected to accelerate.
We forecast that by 2014, diamond wire will account for 11% of the market, rising to 43% by 2017 and 69% by 2020. Most of this growth will occur in the single-crystal segment, where diamond wire is expected to dominate. In contrast, its use in the polycrystalline market will remain below 30%.
Overall, the transition to diamond wire is inevitable, driven by both technological advancements and the expanding photovoltaic market. According to forecasts, global demand for diamond wire is expected to grow significantly—from 300,000 km in 2011 to 34 million km by 2020.
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