Thermal modelling of laser processing for silicon photovoltaics

Laser bending of ductile materials is a promising manufacturing method for industry because it is contact free, and without spring-back effect. Although laser bending of metals (stainless steel, titanium, aluminum) has been explored since the early 1980's, laser bending of brittle materials such as silicon, borosilicate glass, and ceramics, is a relatively new field of research. Deformed silicon structures find application in microchips (clip chips, MEMS), and silicon cantilevers for atomic force microscopes. In the field of photovoltaics, silicon laser bending allows for novel cell architectures. The subject of this paper is the experimental investigations of laser bending of silicon combined with simulation techniques to model the temperature field.