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Improvement of DS Grown Mc-Si Ingot for PV Application by Reducing the Thickness of the Bottom Heat Exchanger Block: Numerical Investigation

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Abstract

This work presents the numerical investigation of manufacturing the multi-crystalline silicon (mc-Si) ingots by using a lab-scale directional solidification furnace. Thermal distribution, melt-crystal interface and power consumption are investigated. The heat extraction from the crystal plays an important role in the growth of the better quality ingot. The modification was done on the heat exchanger block (HEB). In this modified furnace, 1/3rd part of the HEB is replaced by the insulation block and the dimensions of the modified HEB are 90 mm* 240 mm. The purpose of the modification is to reduce heat extraction in the peripheral region during the growth process. The modified furnace and conventional furnace results are compared. In the overall growth process, the modified furnace maintained the convex melt-crystal interface due to heat extracted from the bottom of the crucible. The main advantage of the modified furnace is consuming less power compared to the conventional furnace which saves 87 kW of power. These results reduce thermal stress and maintained the convex melt-crystal interface during the growth process.

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Funding

This work is supported by the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India (Order No. DST/TMD/CERI/RES/2020/7 dated 31/12/2020).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Physics, Sri Sivasubramaniya Nadar College of Engineering, Chennai, 603110, India

    Sugunraj Sekar & Srinivasan Manikkam

  2. Research Centre, Sri Sivasubramaniya Nadar College of Engineering, Chennai, 603110, India

    Sugunraj Sekar, Aravindan Gurusamy, Srinivasan Manikkam & Ramasamy Perumalsamy

Authors
  1. Sugunraj Sekar
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  2. Aravindan Gurusamy
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  3. Srinivasan Manikkam
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  4. Ramasamy Perumalsamy
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Contributions

Sugunraj Sekar—Writing—Original Draft.

Aravindan Gurusamy—Formal Analysis—Investigation.

Srinivasan Manikkam—Supervision.

Ramasamy Perumalsamy—Review & Editing.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Srinivasan Manikkam.

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Sekar, S., Gurusamy, A., Manikkam, S. et al. Improvement of DS Grown Mc-Si Ingot for PV Application by Reducing the Thickness of the Bottom Heat Exchanger Block: Numerical Investigation. Silicon 15, 4183–4192 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12633-023-02350-5

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