Application Prospects of Sic Silicon Carbide Ceramics in the Photovoltaic Field

Silicon carbide (SiC) is an important high-end ceramic material. Due to its good high temperature resistance, corrosion resistance, wear resistance, high temperature mechanical properties, oxidation resistance and other characteristics, it has broad application prospects in high-tech fields such as semiconductors, nuclear energy, national defense and space technology.

According to statistics, the market size of silicon carbide ceramics will reach 48.291 billion yuan in 2022. Combined with the industry development environment and market dynamics, the global silicon carbide ceramics market is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 6.37% during the forecast period, and it is predicted that the total size of the global silicon carbide ceramics market will reach 69.686 billion yuan by 2028. The following will briefly analyze the application and prospects of silicon carbide ceramics in the semiconductor and photovoltaic fields.

Application of silicon carbide ceramics in the photovoltaic field
① It is a key carrier material in the production process of photovoltaic cells. Among silicon carbide structural ceramics, silicon carbide boat supports have developed a high prosperity in the photovoltaic industry and have become a good choice for key carrier materials in the production process of photovoltaic cells. Its market demand has attracted increasing attention from the industry.

At present, boat supports, boat boxes, pipe fittings, etc. made of quartz are commonly used, but they are restricted by the domestic and international high-purity quartz sand sources, and the production capacity is small. There is a tight supply and demand for high-purity quartz sand, and the price has been running at a high level for a long time, and the service life is short. Compared with quartz materials, boat supports, boat boxes, pipe fittings and other products made of silicon carbide materials have good thermal stability, no deformation at high temperature, and no harmful precipitated pollutants. As an excellent alternative material for quartz products, the service life can reach more than 1 year, which can significantly reduce the use cost and the loss of production capacity caused by maintenance and repair. The cost advantage is obvious, and its application prospect as a carrier in the photovoltaic field is broad.

② Can be used as the absorber material of solar power generation system. The tower solar thermal power generation system is highly praised in solar power generation because of its high concentration ratio (200~1000kW/㎡), high thermal cycle temperature, low heat loss, simple system and high efficiency. As the core device of tower solar thermal power generation, the absorber needs to withstand a radiation intensity 200-300 times stronger than natural light, and the operating temperature can be as high as one thousand degrees Celsius, so its performance is very important for the stable operation and working efficiency of the thermal power generation system. The operating temperature of traditional metal material absorbers is limited, making ceramic absorber materials a new research hotspot. Alumina ceramics, cordierite ceramics, and silicon carbide ceramics are often used as absorber materials.

Among them, silicon carbide ceramics have excellent characteristics such as high strength, large specific surface area, corrosion resistance, oxidation resistance, good thermal insulation, thermal shock resistance and high temperature resistance, and have better high temperature performance than alumina and cordierite ceramic absorber materials. The absorber made of sintered silicon carbide can make the absorber obtain an outlet air temperature of up to 1200℃ without material damage.

③ The photovoltaic industry is developing rapidly, and there is a continuously growing market size for silicon carbide ceramic materials.

At present, the photovoltaic penetration rate in major economies in the world continues to increase. Driven by the policy guidance of various countries and market demand, as the cost of electricity in the photovoltaic industry has dropped significantly, photovoltaic power generation has become the most economical power energy in the world. According to the IEA forecast, the installed capacity of photovoltaic power will increase to nearly 5TW at a CAGR of 21% between 2020 and 2030, and the proportion of photovoltaic power in global installed power will increase from 9.5% to 33.2%. In 2022, the global photovoltaic manufacturing capacity will increase by more than 70%, reaching nearly 450GW.

China accounts for more than 95% of the new capacity of the entire supply chain. In 2023 and 2024, global photovoltaic manufacturing capacity is expected to double, with China once again accounting for more than 90% of the increase; according to data from the China Photovoltaic Industry Association, my country's photovoltaic cell production showed a sustained growth trend from 2012 to 2022, with an average annual compound growth rate of 31.23%. By the end of June 2023, the cumulative installed capacity of photovoltaics was about 470 million kilowatts, which is already the second largest power source in my country in terms of installed capacity, second only to coal-fired power.

The strong terminal installation demand continues to drive the high growth of cell demand, and promotes the increase in demand for silicon carbide boat brackets and boat box replacements in the photovoltaic industry. It is estimated that by 2025, the proportion of silicon carbide structural ceramics used in the semiconductor and photovoltaic industries will reach 62%, of which the proportion of silicon carbide structural ceramics used in the photovoltaic industry will increase from 6% in 2022 to 26%, becoming the fastest growing area.

The high stability and mechanical properties of silicon carbide ceramics have expanded their application scope. As the requirements of domestic and foreign industries for high-precision, high-wear-resistant, and high-reliability mechanical components or electronic components become increasingly stringent, the market development potential of silicon carbide ceramic products is huge.

Electronic devices, chips, MOSFETs, etc. with huge heat generation must be in contact with the inner wall of the shell of the hardware casting mold to effectively achieve heat transfer and dissipate heat. MOS tubes play the role of amplification or switching circuits in electronic circuits, so high insulation and high thermal conductivity materials are the first parameters to consider for MOS tube heat dissipation materials. The unique manufacturing process of boron nitride thermal insulation sheets ensures that the material has high thermal conductivity and extremely reliable electrical insulation. This feature gives high thermal conductivity insulation sheets a unique advantage in the field of power device assembly.