A microwave technology invented at Macquarie University will improve the manufacture of solar cells and make them easier to recycle.
During the fabrication of solar panels, silicon goes through several high-temperature processes known as annealing. Currently the cells are cooked in an oven.
But in a paper published in the journal Applied Physics Letters this week, a team led by senior lecturer Dr. Binesh Puthen Veettil of the School of Engineering has shown that heating using microwave radiation is nearly as efficient. Plus, it saves considerable time and energy and has other advantages.
