Mainstream Solar Wafer G12 and M10+

Solar wafer size evolvement

In order to increase the power of solar panels and reduce the cost of solar panels, the silicon wafer industry has been driven to continuously expand the size of silicon wafers, from M2, M4, G1, M6, M10, and finally to M12 (G12) and M10+.

Before year 2010, monocrystalline silicon wafers were dominated by 125mm x 125mm width (165mm silicon ingot diameter) . By the end of year 2013, a number of producers jointly issued the standards for M2 p-Type mono wafers (205mm diameter) and M2 p-Type mono wafers (210mm diameter). During that period of year 2013, there were also a few M4 (161.7mm x 161.6mm) (211mm diameter) wafers on the market. From year 2018 to 2019, G1 was inaugurated to the market and adopted by some solar cell manufacturers. Time to year2019, M6 p-Type mono wafers (223mm diameter) was lauched.  From year 2020, M12(G12) M10 were launched. 

The global shift toward high efficiency solar panel has driven a booming market for M10 and G12 solar wafers. The rapid adoption of M10 wafers has accounted for over 45% of new capacity, while G12 wafers account for approximately 40%, with smaller wafers accounting for the remainder. The growing demand for larger wafers enables higher power output each module and increases system efficiency by up to 6%. Currently, over 55% of utility-scale solar projects use G12 wafers due to their cost-per-watt advantages. However, M10 wafers still dominate the residential and commercial sectors, holding a 45% market share. Advances in slicing and cell processing technologies have also increased cell yields by over 4%, boosting overall market competitiveness.

Rectangular shape M10+ (182R) solar wafer

Since 2022, M10 (182*182mm) and G12 (210*210mm) sizes have gradually dominated the market. However, to increase container loading capacity of solar modules, rectangular wafer sizes that integrate module layouts were introduced, including 182.2*183.5mm, 182.2*183.75mm, 182.2*185.3mm, 182.2*186.8mm, 182.2*188mm, 182.2*191.6mm, 182.2*199mm, and 182.2*210mm. The rectangular wafer sizes can be summarized as M10+ or 182R.

Length and diameter Of Solar wafer M2, M4, G1, M6, M10,G12 and M10+

Note: L= length; D=Diameter

M12/G12 solar wafer

M6 solar wafer

M4 solar wafer

G1/158.75mm solar wafer

M2/156.75mm solar wafer

Drawings Of Solar wafer M2, M4, G1, M6, M10,G12 and M10+

Solar cell and module power from different wafers