Recently NexWafe GmbH was spun out of the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE, in order to bring the Institute’s kerfless EpiWafer technology to the market and rapid commercialization. In the EpiWafer technology, a thick crystalline silicon layer is epitaxially deposited and subsequently detached after growth to produce a freestanding wafer of standard thickness. Due to the radical changes in the manufacturing value chain, EpiWafers can be produced at an appreciably lower cost compared to the traditional wafer manufacturing process. The EpiWafer is a direct substitute for conventional n- or p-doped silicon mono-crystalline wafers.
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