With the addition of two major brands last year and a growing focus on thin-film applications, Pfeiffer Vacuum is on the road to becoming the world leader in vacuum. Market Manager Coating, Dr. Alexander Gerhard, talks to PES.
PES: Thank you for taking the time to speak to us once again. How has business been for you recently?
Dr. Alexander Gerhard: Our order bookings have been very good worldwide. The acquisition of adixen at the end of last year has strengthened our position in the backing pump market and significantly improved our market presence. We are seeing strong growth in the field of thin-film applications.
PES: We note that you are doing a lot of work on CIGS applications – can you tell us a little about your operations in this arena?
AG: We’ve been involved in work on CIGS processes since the early 1990s, i.e. more or less right from the very beginning. Thanks to the experience we’ve gathered during this period, we are now a highly attractive point of contact worldwide for this technology. Moreover, satisfied customers like Q-Cells assure us a very good reputation. This means that we receive a lot of inquiries – about individual pumps or complete CIGS systems – and that our knowledge of the technology and the markets is very much in demand.
PES: What was your reasoning behind this strategic focus on CIGS?
AG: We are open with respect to all thin-film applications. In the past, we’ve had good experience in the CIGS and CdTe sectors, and we intend to further broaden this technology edge. We’ve been seeing increased demand for CIGS technology for the past six months. One major advantage of this technology is that the scalability of the production process makes for significant cost reduction potential. Thin-film technology is a function of system technology, while silicon technology is coupled to the price of silicon. Glass as a starting material is not a cost driver, while the price of silicon accounts for a good 70 per cent of the costs of a crystalline solar cell.
