EpiNex® wafers are manufactured using NexWafe’s breakthrough EpiNex® process: a direct gas-to-wafer epitaxy process, eliminating both the slow, energy-intensive Czochralski (CZ) crystal growth and wire saw process.
What makes EpiNex Wafers different from CZ Wafers?
Unlike conventional wafers, which are wired sawn from ingots which results in high, non recyclable kerf losses, , EpiNex® wafers are grown directly to final thickness, dramatically improving material efficiency and reducing energy consumption.
Designed for seamless integration, EpiNex® wafers are fully compatible with today’s leading solar cell technologies, including HJT, TOPCon, and MWT.
CZ wafers are contaminated with oxygen which introduces semiconductor defects which in turn degrades cell performance. EpiNex wafers have 40x lower oxygen levels and have significantly improved thermal stability.
#1 EpiNex®:
Proven EpiNex Advantages
Thin & Ultra-Thin Wafers: Available in thicknesses from 150 μm down to 50 μm
- Exceptional uniformity for ultra- thin wafers for space and aerospace applications
- Tunable surface morphology for superior flatness/topology
Low Oxygen Content:
- Up to 40x lower than CZ wafers which enhances thermal stability during processing. Reduces efficiency loss in emitter formation
- Eliminates the root cause of light-induced degradation (LID) when using Boron doping.
Precision Process Control:
- Enables engineered dopant profiles to improve resilience to radiation damage in the bulk material.
- Consistent wafer-to-wafer resistivity for high process repeatability
#2. EpiNex®:
Advanced n-type HJT Solar Cell with 24.4% efficiency on EpiNex Wafer
Lower Carbon Footprint & Resource Use
- Uses 50% less energy by eliminating energy-intensive Siemens & CZ
- Wire saw eliminated. Higher material yield as there is no kerf loss
- Reduces waste through recycling of seed wafers and exhaust gases
- Eliminates the need for a saw damage etch in the cell processing
- #1 EpiNex wafers (left) were a drop in replacement into a leading HJT and TOPCon cell lines with no process optimization required
#3. EpiNex®:
Enabling A Domestic Supply Chain
Western Equipment
- EpiNex® uses Western manufacturing equipment
- Western supplied Commodity Feedstock
Commodity Feedstock
- Uses Trichlorosilane (TCS) or Silicon Tetrachloride (STC)
- Commodity pricing of these feedstocks are stable
- Manufacturing of feedstock is co-located with EpiNex® factory
- Locally Sourced Materials
Locally Sourced Materials
- No critical material imports required
- Enables 100% domestic content compliance. No imports
- Process Tunable Wafer Thickness
Process Tunable Wafer Thickness
Ultra-thin wafers
As they become thinner, sub 90um and down to 50μm and below—they are inherently flexible. This reduces breakage risk during cell processing.
This characteristic enables new form factor opportunities for next-generation module solutions for PV applications in space, aerospace and vehicle integration.
Today and tomorrow
Extending the efficiency of solar cells: Next Generation Tandem Junction
Within the next decade EpiNex® wafers are on track to perfect tandem junction devices with efficiencies to 30%. Tandem junction devices benefit from the improved resistivity, quality and repeatability provided by the EpiNex® process. NexWafe has partnered with CSEM to build 28.9% efficient tandem junctions cells.