Thermal laser separation - damage-free and Kerfless cutting of wafers and solar cells

Thermal Laser Separation (TLS) is a damage free and kerfless dicing technology for brittle materials like silicon (Si) wafers and solar cells. By using a defined stress field, due to laser-based heating and subsequent water cooling, one single crack is guided through, e.g., a silicon substrate. This paper describes important aspects and benefits of TLS thus deriving major potential photovoltaic (PV) applications for TLS. Latest experimental results, finite element (FE) simulations, as well as theoretical considerations are taken into account. As a result, TLS is as a novel technology for cutting crystalline solar cells and wafers.