· Using Esatto Technology results in a 0.2 percent cell efficiency gain and 0.46 percent increase in yield
· Tianjin Yingli New Energy Resource reports paste savings of approximately 15 percent from Esatto Technology’s double printing, contributing to more than 1 percent reduction in cost per watt
PARIS, September 30, 2013 -Applied Materials, Inc. announced today that Tianjin Yingli New Energy Resource Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of Yingli Green Energy Holding Company Ltd., the world’s leading producer of crystalline silicon (c-Si) solar cells and modules, is achieving significant efficiency, yield and cost benefits using Applied’s Baccini® Esatto Technology(TM) Fine Line Double Printing(TM). This announcement was made during the 28th European Solar Energy Conference and Exhibition (EU PVSEC) held this week in Paris, France. As a result of upgrading the Esatto double printing capability to the Applied Baccini Soft Line platform, Tianjin Yingli New Energy Resource reports simultaneously achieving a greater than 0.2 percent cell efficiency gain, paste savings of approximately 15 percent, a 15 percent increase in throughput, and a 0.46 percent yield increase, compared to the previous single print manufacturing baseline.
“Enhancing our Applied Baccini Soft Lines with the latest Esatto double print technology has delivered outstanding results, providing us with a good return on investment,” stated Xiuxiang Wang, General Manager at Tianjin Yingli New Energy Resource Co., Ltd. “The upgrade process was straightforward and allowed us to achieve a fast ramp to volume production. As a longtime collaborator with Applied Materials, we have created high-value solar cells for the growing global market, and we look forward to continuing our close relationship for future developments.”
Key to Applied’s Esatto Technology is its advanced illumination and pattern recognition system, which provides the critical accuracy and repeatability to enable precise alignment between multiple screen-printed layers. Esatto Technology is simple to implement on Baccini back-end solar cell processing systems and comes with a proven best known method (BKM) that incorporates proprietary hardware, software and process innovations, including screen alignment, advanced process control and paste optimization for ultra-fine line double printing. Tianjin Yingli New Energy Resource implemented the Esatto Technology platform on its Baccini Soft Line systems with the latest double print BKM to manufacture its advanced c-Si cell designs resulting in efficiency and yield improvements.
“We are pleased to collaborate with Tianjin Yingli New Energy Resource to enable their rapid adoption of advanced cell architectures into volume production,” said Jim Mullin, vice president and general manager of Solar Products for Applied Materials’ Energy and Environmental Solutions Group. “Baccini’s systems solutions with Esatto Technology provide customers with high value upgrade capability for multiple generations of Baccini lines to increase manufacturing yield and produce higher efficiency cells at lower cost.”
Applied Materials, Inc. (Nasdaq:AMAT) is the global leader in providing innovative equipment, services and software to enable the manufacture of advanced semiconductor, flat panel display and solar photovoltaic products. Our technologies help make innovations like smartphones, flat screen TVs and solar panels more affordable and accessible to consumers and businesses around the world. Learn more at www.appliedmaterials.com.
