Zhonghuan Semiconductor Launches 12-Inch Wafer

• China's Zhonghuan Semiconductor has come out with a wafer with a size of 12-inch
• The new wafer is called Kwafu and it has a large diamond wire-cut monocrystalline silicon square piece with 44,096 mm² area, 295 mm diagonal space, and 210 mm side length
• This wafer size can help the industry improve power yield of 600 W and reduce cost of electricity by more than 6%

Chinese solar wafer manufacturer Tianjin Zhonghuan Semiconductor Co., Ltd. has announced the launch of its new 12-inch large wafer product. Called Kwafu M12 series, the wafers are large diamond wire-cut solar monocrystalline silicon square pieces with 44,096 mm² area, 295 mm diagonal space and 210 mm side length. This makes them much larger than the common 158.75mm wafers as well as the latest 166 mm wafer size promoted by its Chinese competitor LONGi.

With Zhonguan's output claim positioning the wafer ahead of that used by Longi in the 500 W module it unveiled at SNEC in Shanghai earlier this year, the Tianjin manufacturer also says its product can drive up conversion efficiency 0.91% to more than 20%

The Kwafu wafers are said to have 80.5% more area compared to M2 wafers.

Zhonghuan claims a wafer this size can help increase module efficiencies, lead to an output of over 600 W and reduce the final LCOE by more than 6%.

In a stock exchange filing, the company said the new product will have a positive impact on the company's sales and industry status, and reshape the PV monocrystalline wafer segment. At the same time, it is also believes it to have a positive impact on the company's operating results.