Abstract
The purpose of this study is to develop a new process for making silicon plate of less than 100 μm. Silicon plate of less than 100μm will become flexible and be utilized for flexible solar panels. Although experiments with high-temperature molten silicon were difficult to do in our laboratory, we performed model experiments with low melting point metal. In the experiment, we attempted to solidify a metal plate less than 100 μm utilizing surface tension of the molten metal. Moreover, we attempted to apply gas flow, as external force, to the molten part before solidification to make the plate thinner. As a result, we successfully obtained metal plate of thickness of 120 μm. However, plate width became narrower than expected. We need to improve the method for keeping the plate width constant while the whole process.
