SEMI International Standards
Standards New Activity Report Form (SNARF)
Date Prepared: 12/15/2025Revised (if Applicable):

Document Number: 7432
SNARF for: New standard: Guide for Quartz Boat Materials Used in Photovoltaic Cell Equipment

Originating Global Technical Committee: Photovoltaic
Originating TC Chapter: China
Task Force (TF) in which work is to be carried out: PV Equipment Task Force
Note: If a new task force is needed, also submit a task force organization form (TFOF)

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1. Rationale:
a. Describe the need or problem addressed by this activity.
(Indicate the customer, what benefits they will receive, and if possible, quantify the impact on the return on investment [ROI] if the Document is implemented.)
The diffusion process is a core link determining the photoelectric conversion efficiency of batteries. As a key consumable for carrying silicon wafers, the material performance of quartz boats directly affects production stability and product yield. In the early days, the industry generally referred to the general quartz material standards of the semiconductor industry. However, the production of crystalline silicon batteries features long-term high temperature, strong corrosiveness of process gases, and rapid iteration of silicon wafer sizes, making general standards difficult to fully adapt. In recent years, with the rapid iteration of high-efficiency battery technologies such as PERC, TOPCon, and HJT, the initial specifications have shown obvious limitations in key indicators such as material purity, high-temperature deformation resistance, and plasma erosion resistance, becoming an important bottleneck restricting the improvement of battery efficiency and the reduction of production costs.
In recent years, the photovoltaic industry's demand for cost reduction and efficiency improvement has continued to escalate, and production problems caused by quartz boat materials have become increasingly prominent: On the one hand, the increased load brought by large-size silicon wafers leads to failure phenomena such as deformation and fracture of traditional quartz boats. Frequent replacement not only increases consumable costs but also increases the production line downtime rate. On the other hand, during the iteration of process technologies, changes such as increased process temperature and increased source dosage occur, making it easy for impurity deposition and chemical corrosion to occur on the surface of quartz boats, thereby causing silicon wafer pollution and leading to an increase in the defective rate of battery wafers. For this reason, we have carried out an industry research covering leading battery enterprises and mainstream quartz material suppliers. The research content includes both the current application pain points and failure causes of quartz boat materials, as well as the performance requirements of quartz boat materials for high-efficiency battery technologies in the next 3 years.
The research results show that the industry faces two core technical pain points: first, the purity of existing quartz boat materials (such as metal impurities) has not been optimized for high-efficiency battery processes, leading to an increased risk of impurity contamination on the surface of silicon wafers and restricting the improvement of key electrical performance parameters; second, the high-temperature stability of traditional quartz materials is insufficient. In the diffusion process of TOPCon batteries above 1000°C, irreversible deformation is prone to occur, resulting in uneven spacing between silicon wafers and affecting diffusion uniformity. Therefore, this guideline revision will add new technical requirements for special quartz materials, clarify core indicators such as material purity, mechanical performance, and processing quality under different process routes, and provide scientific material selection and testing methods to solve the actual pain points in current production. It is expected that the service life of quartz boats can be extended to 6-8 months, reducing consumable costs by more than 30%, and providing key material technical support for the high-efficiency and large-scale development of the photovoltaic industry.


b. Estimate effect on industry.
2: Major effect on an industry sector - identify the relevant sector
Sector or Company Information:

c. Estimate technical difficulty of the activity.
II: Some Difficulty - Disagreements on known requirements exist but developing consensus is possible

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2. Scope:
a: Describe the technical areas to be covered or addressed by this Document development activity. For Subordinate Standards, list common concepts or criteria that the Subordinate Standard inherits from the Primary Standard, as well as differences from the Primary Standard:
This guideline specifies the material technical standards for quartz boats used in the diffusion process of crystalline silicon solar cell production. It focuses on introducing the selection basis and key performance indicators of quartz boat substrates, covering technical specifications for processes such as material selection, production and manufacturing, inspection and acceptance.This guideline is applicable to the selection of quartz materials in the field of photovoltaic diffusion.

b: Expected result of activity
New Standard or Safety Guideline (including replacement of an existing Standard or Safety Guideline)

For a new Subordinate Standard, identify the Primary Standard here:




For Standards, identify the Standard Subtype below:
Guide

Miscellaneous (describe below):

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3. Projected Timetable for Completion:

a: General Milestones
a. Activity Start: 11/01/2025b. 1st Draft by: 11/01/2026
c. (Optional) Informational Ballot by: d. Letter Ballot by: 12/01/2026
e. TC Chapter Approval By:04/01/2027

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4. Liaisons with other Global Technical Committees/TC Chapters/Subcommittees/TFs:
a. List SEMI global technical committees, TC Chapters, subcommittees, or task forces in your or other Regions/Locales that should be kept informed regarding the progress of this activity. (Refer to SEMI Standards organization charts and global technical committee charters and scopes as needed.)


b. List any planned Type I Liaisons with external nonprofit organizations (e.g., SDO) that should receive Draft Documents from Standards staff for feedback during this activity and be notified when the Letter Ballot is issued (refer to Procedure Manual § 7):


c. Intercommittee Ballots:
will be issued – identify the recipient global technical committee(s):

Identify the recipient global technical committee(s):
Photovoltaic
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5. Safety Considerations:
The resulting document is expected:
NOT to be a Safety Guideline

NOTE FOR "to be a Safety Guideline": When all safety-related information is removed from the Document, the Document is NOT technically sound and complete - Refer to Section 15.1 of the Regulations for special procedures to be followed.

NOTE FOR "NOT to be a Safety Guideline": When all safety-related information is removed from the Document, the Document is still technically sound and complete.

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6. Intellectual Property Considerations:
Note: Both a: and b: below should be checked for Revision of existing Standard(s) and Safety Guideline(s).

a. For a new Standard or Safety Guideline and for any part to be modified or added in a Revision of published Standards and Safety Guidelines:
the use of patented technology is NOT required.

If "patented technology is intended to be included in the proposed Standard(s) or Safety Guideline(s) " is selected above, then also check one:


b. For Revision, Reapproval, Reinstatement, or Withdrawal of existing Standard(s) and Safety Guideline(s):


c. The body of the Document and any Appendices, Complementary Files, Related Information sections, or Various Materials that may or may not be a part of the Document by reference:
the incorporation of Copyrighted Item will NOT be required



NOTE FOR ‘the use of patented technology or the incorporation of Copyrighted Item(s) is NOT required’: If in the course of developing the Document, it is determined that the use of patented technology or Copyrighted Item(s) is necessary for the Document, the provisions of Regulations § 16 must be followed.

NOTE FOR ’will incorporate Copyrighted Item’: A copyright release letter must be obtained from the copyright owner prior to publication.

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7. Comments, Special Circumstances:
None.

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8. TC Member Review:
took place between (put dates below) before approval by the GCS, or

Member Review Start Date; 11/11/2025
Member Review End Date: 11/25/2025

NOTE FOR ‘TC Member Review’ is required by the Regulations for a period of at least two weeks
before approval of a new, or a major revision of an existing, Standard or Safety Guideline. (Refer to Regulations ¶ 8.2.1)
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9. SNARF Approval Dates:
TC Chapter or GCS11/26/2025
Recorded in TC Minutes

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10. SNARF Extension Dates:
TC Chapter Extension Granted on
Extension Expires on