Numerical Simulation for Gas Supply Line Design in Manufacturing Process of Silicon Solar Cells Based on Steady State Fluid Dynamics

Abstract

This paper presents the numerical analysis of the velocity distribution in for a Fully Automatic Horizontal Diffusion Furnace for manufacturing Silicon Solar Cells. Diffusion and convection usually are interconnected in physics world, while convection is directly connected with flow velocity. Therefore, in a diffusion oven, the velocity of the gas(es) surrounding the wafer zone would play an important role in the quality of the process. A more uniform laminar flow surrounding the area, should in fact results in more consistent wafer quality. Therefore, the focus of the study is to compare the velocity field in the neighboring area, for different arrangement of gas intake. Numerical simulation has been conducted to provide guidance of designing the gas supply tube and the nozzles. Three dimensional, Steady State Fluid Dynamics analyses have been made. From the results of the simulation, the supply gas velocity distribution is very sensitive to the parameters. Gas supply line design with variable nozzle diameters form 2.0 to 3.5 provides the better gas velocity distribution, ensuring fresh gas to the wafer zone with gentle laminar flow in this study.