• Coating Machine for Rear Side Passivation of PERC
With vacuum coating machine SINGULAR XP cell efficiency increased by up to 1 %; PERC cells with efficiency levels of more than 20 % possible.
• System for Buffer Layer Deposition of CIGS Thin-Film Solar Cells
Development machine of the TENUIS enables significant cost savings over market standard.
Kahl am Main, August 21, 2013 – The SINGULUS TECHNOLOGIES AG (SINGULUS) displays the vacuum coating machine SINGULAR XP for PERC applications and a machine for the efficient wet-chemical coating of buffer layers on CIGS thin-film solar modules at its fair booth at the 28th European Photovoltaic Solar Energy Conference and Exhibition. The 28th EU PVSEC will take place in Paris from October 1 – 3.
SINGULAR XP ideally for upgrade of existing production lines
With this machine SINGULUS presents a production solution for passivated rear silicon solar cells (e.g. PERC; passivated emitter and rear cell). This solution was developed especially for the upgrade of existing cell production lines. With an additional dielectric coating on the rear side electric and optical efficiency losses of the cells are reduced compared with traditional cells. In particular, this technology is required for very thin wafers, which will be increasingly used in the future.
This production solution was developed together with the Institute for Solar Energy Research Hameln (ISFH). The efficiency of screen printing silicon solar cells was increased to a record level of 20.1 %.
For the upgrade of traditional cell production lines three additional production steps are required. The passivation of the rear side is the most important step. The dielectric passivation layer is emitted in the ICP-PECVD machine SINGULAR. The coating systems AlOx and SiNy are applied. Before coating the rear side it is smoothed with a wet-chemical glaze in a LINEA II glazing machine. For the rear side contacting through a laser process, SINGULUS is closely cooperating with a partner.
TENUIS R & D System for CIGS Thin-Film Solar Cells
It is extremely important for cell manufactures to constantly further develop processes and cycles to gain an advantage over their competitors. The development machine of the TENUIS series is ideally suited for this requirement in particular. New know-how is acquired with it under real conditions. Here, SINGULUS also offers the possibility to use alternative coating materials (Zn(O)S). Reproducible process results can be easily transferred to an industrial production volume at a later stage.
The industrial manufacturing machines of the TENUIS type have a modular cluster build and enable both significant savings in terms of required floor space and the simultaneous one-sided coating of two substrates. With application and temperature control the process time was reduced by 20 %, which results in the positive effect of a significantly higher output of the production line.
The new generation of the TENUIS plant offers substantial cost advantages in the production of high performance CIS/CIGS thin-film solar cells. Furthermore, the costs are significantly reduced by process adjusted temperatures and by the very efficient use of process chemicals enabling the new plant to consistently exploit the savings potential in the manufacturing of thin-film solar cells.
Profile SINGULUS TECHNOLOGIES:
SINGULUS TECHNOLOGIES develops innovative technologies for efficient production processes, which only make use of resources conservatively. New production technology combined with sustainable processes and the use of novel materials can decouple the use of resources from economic growth in the long-term. SINGULUS TECHNOLOGIES’ innovative power and competitiveness are strengthened by these new technologic developments.
With its Optical Disc segment SINGULUS TECHNOLOGIES is the market leader for CD, DVD and Blu-ray Disc production equipment. As the only engineering company worldwide SINGULUS TECHNOLOGIES today already provides the machine technology for three-layer Blu-ray Discs with a storage volume of about 100 GB.
In the Solar division SINGULUS TECHNOLOGIES is a recognized supplier for new machines concepts and production processes for crystalline and thin-film solar cells, which increase the efficiency of solar cells and reduce their production costs. SINGULUS TECHNOLOGIES establishes itself as a development partner and machine supplier for technologies enabling a sustainable energy provision on the basis of renewable energies.
In the Semiconductor segment SINGULUS TECHNOLOGIES focuses its activities on the vacuum coating of wafers with ultra-thin layers for the production of MRAM memory, thin-film write/read heads and other semiconductor applications.
To find out more please visit us at our booth D 10, Hall 2 at the 28th EUPVSEC.
SINGULUS TECHNOLOGIES AG, Hanauer Landstrasse 103,
D-63796 Kahl/Main, ISIN: DE0007238909, WKN: 723890
For further information please contact:
Bernhard Krause, Corporate Communications,
Tel.: + 49 (0) 6181 – 982 80 20, or
Maren Schuster, Head of Investor Relations,
Tel.: + 49 (0) 6188 – 440 612
