PES talks to Dr.-Ing. Marc Hüske, Senior Vice President Strategic Product Management & Technology Development of LPKF SolarQuipment GmbH, about the latest advances in thin-film scribing and 24/7 customer service …
PES: Welcome to PES Solar. Would
you like to introduce your company and explain a little about how you serve the solar industry?
Marc Hüske: LPKF SolarQuipment GmbH is a member of the LPKF group. LPKF Laser & Electronics AG is a specialist in micro material processing by laser. The business units and subsidiary companies work on laser systems for PCB production, PCB development, laser plastic welding and laser direct structuring, a method which generates circuitry on 3D parts. LPKF SolarQuipment itself so far has focused on supplying laser scribing equipment to thin-film manufacturers. Our major aim is to support our customers in further optimising the energy yield of their thin film solar modules.
Laser scribing is used in thin-film module manufacturing to separate the large area photo diode into individual cells approximately 5 to 10 mm wide, connected in series thus ensuring a viable division of current and voltage values. The more accurately these cells are scribed and the less space the three scribes P1 to P3 use the more output power the solar module will deliver.
LPKF SolarQuipment’s Allegro series uses several methods to optimise the solar module’s efficiency. The Allegro’s scribing head tracks predecessor tracks to the current pattern to the previous one during scribing minimising the dead zone down to 150 microns and less depending on the scribe widths needed. This technology leads to a higher yield and more powerful solar modules. Innovative optical and laser configurations enable the Allegro to minimise tracks widths.
Aside from this it is essential that the Allegro systems are able to provide today’s production line takt times without the need to double the system numbers as well as to provide high technical availability above 98%. Allegro laser scribers are designed to be robust, low-maintenance and easy to service.The systems feature maintenance-free air bearings for feeding glass and the movement of the machining head as well as long-life laser sources. This effectively increases system availability.
Optimised machine dynamics, precision laser scribing and the minimum-cost machine concept make Allegro laser scribers an exceedingly cost-effective solution for producing thin-film solar modules.
