Leading Chinese solar cell manufacturer orders RASIRC steamers

PVSEC, SAN DIEGO, USA: RASIRC, the steam purification company, announced the sale of multiple RASIRC Steamers to a leading solar cell manufacturer in China. The manufacturer plans to improve overall process efficiency by using Steamer-generated ultrapure water vapor for passivation and other processes.

The RASIRC Steamer is the only technology to generate 100 percent purified steam from de-ionized (DI) water. It offers improved efficiency and growth rate to industries, including photovoltaics and semiconductors, where thermal oxide films are an essential feature. RASIRC designs and manufactures products for controlled humidification and ultrapure steam generation for critical manufacturing processes.

"This is one of several installations for RASIRC products into China, which demonstrates the transition of our technology from R&D into volume manufacturing of photovoltaics,” said RASIRC founder and president Jeffrey Spiegelman. "Our methods of delivering pure water vapor improve results, lower operating costs, and eliminate the need for hydrogen."

Thermal silicon oxides are known to effectively passivate silicon surfaces and have been used for the fabrication of highly efficient silicon solar cells. Generally, the steam used for wet oxidation is produced by combustion of hydrogen and oxygen gases.

The RASIRC Steamer uses a new approach for direct steam delivery that purifies vaporized de-ionized water. This process decreases costs for expendables, eliminates hydrogen gas from the facility thereby improving safety, and allows for delivery of 100% saturated steam into the process, maximizing the growth rate of the oxidation layer.