Differences between Monocrystalline and Polycrystalline Solar Panels
Release time:
2025-09-04
Polycrystalline silicon and monocrystalline silicon are two different substances. Polycrystalline silicon is a chemical term commonly referred to as glass, and high - purity polycrystalline silicon material is essentially high - purity glass. Monocrystalline silicon is the raw material for making solar photovoltaic cells and is also used in the production of semiconductor chips. Due to the scarcity of silicon ore raw materials for producing monocrystalline silicon and the complexity of its production process, its output is low and its price is high.
Polycrystalline silicon and monocrystalline silicon are two different substances. Polycrystalline silicon is a chemical term commonly referred to as glass, and high - purity polycrystalline silicon material is essentially high - purity glass. Monocrystalline silicon is the raw material for making solar photovoltaic cells and is also used in the production of semiconductor chips. Due to the scarcity of silicon ore raw materials for producing monocrystalline silicon and the complexity of its production process, its output is low and its price is high.
Simply put, the difference between monocrystalline silicon and polycrystalline silicon lies in the arrangement of their atomic structures. Monocrystalline silicon has an ordered arrangement, while polycrystalline silicon has a disordered arrangement. This is mainly determined by their processing techniques. Shenghui's polycrystalline silicon is mostly produced by the casting method, which involves directly pouring the silicon material into a crucible, melting it, and then allowing it to solidify.
On the other hand, Shenghui's monocrystalline silicon is produced using an improved Siemens method for direct pulling. The direct - pulling process is actually a process of reorganizing the atomic structure. To the naked eye, the surface of monocrystalline silicon looks uniform, while the surface of polycrystalline silicon looks as if there are many pieces of broken glass inside, shining brightly.
We can summarize the differences as follows:
Monocrystalline solar panels: Have no patterns, are deep blue in color, and appear nearly black after encapsulation.
Polycrystalline solar panels: Have patterns. There are polycrystalline panels with many colors (polycrystalline multi - colored) and those with fewer colors (polycrystalline less - colored). They resemble the snowflake - like crystalline patterns on snow - like tinplate and are light blue in color.
Amorphous solar panels: Most are made of glass and are brownish - tea - colored.
