Cell Award - Entries

Schmalz Wafer Gripper SWG

Wed, 13 May 2009 09:38:53 GMT

J. Schmalz GmbH’s new development, the Schmalz Wafer Gripper SWG, is particularly suitable for the extremely fast, precise and damage-free handling of highly sensitive wafer and solar cells. The SWG has decisive advantages compared with manual grippers, mechanical grippers, conventional vacuum grippers or floating suction pads employing Bernoulli’s principle regarding process safety, damage minimisation and cycle times.

Cell Multiplication Technology from Solaria

Tue, 12 May 2009 17:40:25 GMT

In 2008, Solaria received IEC certification for the world’s first module manufacturing technology to incorporate semiconductor singulation processes and optical packaging technologies into crystalline silicon (c-Si) solar modules. Known as Cell Multiplication Technology (CMT), the technology significantly reduces the capital and operational costs of module manufacturing while also introducing unprecedented flexibility for optimizing c-Si module designs for specific market applications.

Sysmex Flow Particle Image Analyzer FPIA-3000

Thu, 07 May 2009 18:03:30 GMT

The Sysmex Flow Particle Image Analyzer FPIA-3000 from Malvern Instruments measures particle size and shape in wet suspensions. It is proving ideal for monitoring the deterioration of abrasive slurries used in the wire saw cutting processes in solar cell production and also for monitoring the slurry recycling process. The fast, efficient quantitative particle analysis it provides enables manufacturers to optimise slurry use and to recycle slurry without compromising final product quality. This contributes to minimising raw material use and the reduction of industrial waste.

Edwards’ Spectra Z 3000™

Wed, 06 May 2009 18:52:37 GMT

Solar cell manufacturing is becoming increasingly important as an environmentally-friendly means of generating electrical power, and the growth of thin films of microcrystalline silicon will form a key part of this. The PECVD growth of this material poses a number of significant challenges regarding the treatment of the resultant exhaust gases, in terms of removing toxic, corrosive, global warming, and flammable gases safely, at low cost, whilst also minimising the environmental impact.

Ceilcote Trichlorosilane Process vent scrubbing

Wed, 06 May 2009 18:32:02 GMT

Silicon, used to make some of the earliest photovoltaic (PV) device, is still the most popular material for solar cells. Outranked only by oxygen, silicon is also the second-most abundant element in the Earth's crust. However, to be useful as a semiconductor material in solar cells, silicon must be refined to a purity of 99.9999%. Ceilcote has become a leader in providing solutions for these complex refining processes.

Dubai Silicon Oasis

Wed, 06 May 2009 18:24:22 GMT

The goal of the Dubai Silicon Oasis is to create a universally recognized state-of-the-art “Technology Oasis” by facilitating and promoting technology-based industries, research and development within a fully integrated community.

Silicon Border, Mexicali, Mexico

Wed, 06 May 2009 18:04:53 GMT

Mexico has also established itself as one of the front-runners in the ever-growing PV market with an increasing number of large and key industry players transferring their business to the region.

Shenzen Province, China

Wed, 06 May 2009 18:02:00 GMT

Asia is another region that has been reaping the rewards of PV Growth, a prime example of this being the province of Shenzen in China. With ten highly prominent initial public offerings (IPOs) racked up already, China's solar energy industry is poised to make a major impact on worldwide polysilicon capacity and solar cell production.

State of Oregon, USA

Wed, 06 May 2009 17:57:38 GMT

Oregon is on pace to be the largest photovoltaic producing state in North America in 2009, with more than 600 MW of annual production capacity. Solar manufacturers are flocking to Oregon for low energy costs, skilled silicon workforce, environmental tax incentives and the overall premium value Oregonians put on stewardship. SolarWorld, Solaicx and Peak Sun have all set up shop in Oregon in the past year.

Xcell 3400 Stringer

Wed, 06 May 2009 10:58:52 GMT

The small compact foot print, immense product flexibility and a highly advanced induction close loop soldering process, make the Komax Xcell 3400 Stringer a key machine in helping the Crystalline Solar Industry reach grid parity.

BakerClean™ PV-160

Wed, 06 May 2009 10:56:25 GMT

BakerClean™ PV-160 Solar Cell Surface Modifier is a wet chemical surface modifier applicable to in-line manufacturing processes of crystalline silicon (c-Si) solar cells. Following emitter formation, BakerClean PV-160 surface modifier’s modification of cell surface properties delivers higher value solar cells by improving cell conversion efficiency.

Scapa adhesive tapes for module assembly

Wed, 06 May 2009 10:45:19 GMT

To meet the exacting demands of the Photovoltaic solar industry, Scapa has developed a number of technical, pressure sensitive adhesive tapes for module assembly. The focus of the Scapa technology offered, centres on high quality cellular foams, coated on both sides with pressure sensitive acrylic adhesive and is used for module frame mounting.This technology provides effective and permanent bonding of the photovoltaic module and the framing material whilst forming a durable seal which prevents water and moisture ingress.

VINSPEC SP - Inline process control for thickness of the antireflection coating at PV-wafers

Wed, 06 May 2009 10:39:11 GMT

There are several steps in the production process of solar cells which are crucial for cell efficiency. Therefore the necessity arises to effectively control quality inline. VINSPEC SP is designed to provide reliable contactless inline quality measurement for thickness of antireflection coating at PV-wafers directly after the coating process.

VINSPECsolar: Optical quality inspection within the handling process of solar cells

Wed, 06 May 2009 10:15:08 GMT

The first step of the automated solar module production process is the soldering of the solar cells in to a string. During the feeding of the cells our machine vision system VINSPECsolar inspects the cells for optical quality criteria. This inspection takes place before the integration of the cells in to a module. The machine vision system VINSPECsolar records the exact position of the cell and calculates the difference between the target and current position. The corrected coordinates are submitted to the handling system. Thereby optimal handling of the cell is guaranteed. Additionally VINSPECsolar inspects the shape of the cell and the quality of the printing on the front side. Solar cells of a poor quality and breakages can be picked out without delaying production. VINSPECsolar reliable detects all relevant faults criteria and classifies them. VINSPECsolar provides a critical contribution to high product quality and distinct classification.

Sunbox silane free coating system

Wed, 06 May 2009 10:08:13 GMT

The Sixtron SunBox is a silane-free coating system for front-side antireflective and passivation coating processes in c-Si solar cell manufacturing. Using a unique silicon carbide-based chemistry, the SunBox is a “plug & play” solution for crystalline silicon cell manufacturing lines that matches the efficiency of today’s most advanced antireflective and passivation coating systems while completely eliminating the significant safety, reliability and cost issues associated with pyrophoric silane gas.

Tigo Energy™ power electronics system for modules

Wed, 06 May 2009 09:23:13 GMT

Tigo Energy has developed a power electronics system for PV solar projects which distributes key elements of instrumentation, control and maximum power point tracking to the module. The system provides optimal power harvest from each module while not introducing additional conversion loss or significant cost increases relative to today’s centralized BOS electronics. By placing a small amount of electronics on each panel, Tigo Energy eliminates the system impact of underperforming modules (made weaker by high temperature; dust & debris; aging; clouds; or shade) and thus harvests up to 20% additional energy. This significantly reduces levelized cost of energy (LCOE) and project payback period.

ChemGuard refill technology

Fri, 01 May 2009 12:37:22 GMT

ChemGuard refill technology (CG1000) has been developed by Air Products to substantially reduce c-Si cell manufacturing costs. The system eliminates the need to replace empty chemical (POCl3) containers residing inside the diffusion furnaces, which use this chemical to dope the Si wafer with N-type material.

Veeco’s PV-Series™ Thermal Deposition Sources

Thu, 30 Apr 2009 17:24:51 GMT

Veeco manufactures equipment that is used by solar cell manufacturers to produce high-efficient, low-cost thin film CIGS (copper indium gallium (di)selenide) solar panels in mass production. Veeco’s PV-Series™ Thermal Deposition Sources are capable of depositing Cu, In, Ga and Se across substrates up to 1.2m wide that enables high volume manufacturing of thin film solar modules. Veeco is the only manufacturer of production deposition thermal sources to coat glass or flexible sheets to produce low cost CIGS solar panels on flexible or rigid substrates as shown in the figure below.

Linde On-Site F2 Generator

Thu, 30 Apr 2009 17:10:00 GMT

CVD chamber cleaning using fluorinated gases has been commonplace in semiconductor manufacturing for decades and proven to be a fast and effective alternative to wet cleaning. This process has been scaled up to deal with larger process chambers, first in TFT-LCD panel manufacture, and lately for large area thin film solar cell manufacture. Many of the gases currently used such as Nitrogen Trifluoride (NF3) and Sulphur Hexafluoride (SF6) have high global warming potentials (GWP) [for example: 17,200 for NF3 and 23,900 for SF6]. In line with the industry need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, fluorine gas (F2) has been identified as an effective alternative, having zero GWP. Restrictions exist however on large scale cylinder filling and transport for fluorine, hence it cannot be used in a typical thin film PV fab where annual gas consumption is very high. On-site generation of F2 gas has been developed by Linde as a viable alternative, with scaleable plants available to deal with large turnkey PV production lines. Developed in the late 1990s, this proven technology has been installed at more than 20 semiconductor, LCD and solar cell production sites, including Toshiba Matsushita Display, Samsung Electronics, and LG Display. Chamber cleaning with Linde on-site generated F2 gives thin-film manufacturers reduced cost per Watt and provides the end user with a reduced carbon footprint PV module.

ecoSplitC™

Thu, 30 Apr 2009 16:14:30 GMT

Together with the Fraunhofer IPA in Stuttgart, ACI-ecotec GmbH & Co. KG developed the first wet wafer separator. That system, now on its 3rd revision and currently in use with key wafer manufacturers globally, has proven to be an economical, fast and reliable solution for separating pre-cleaned, raw wet solar wafers from the wire saw, for inline or batch processing. The system is designed and has proven to offer, fast, safe and reliable wet wafer separation offering a very fast return of investment for automation at this crucial wafer handling step. There are 24 separator units integrated into batch and inline solutions since 2005 to customers in Europe, US and ASIA.