Friedrich P Witek, Senior Manager at SENTECH, took time out to bring PES up-to-date with the progress of this innovative company. Their quality control (QC) solutions are second to none, rolled out world-wide and their market presence is rapidly expanding. They have come on leaps and bounds since our last interview in 2016. Read on to find out more.
PES: Welcome back to PES Solar, it’s good to talk with you again. For the benefit of our new readers would you like to begin by giving us an overview of SENTECH?
Friedrich P Witek: In 1990, SENTECH was founded in Adlershof, Berlin and is part of the business campus Adlershof, Berlin. SENTECH Instruments develops, manufactures, and globally sells innovative capital equipment, centered on thin films such as in semiconductor technology, microsystems, photovoltaics, nanotechnology and materials research.
Plasma process technology and thin film metrology are our business areas. Both market segments have some connection to photovoltaics. We provide innovative solutions for non-contact, non-invasive optical characterization using ellipsometry and reflectometry.
PES: We know you are active in many industries, how important is the
solar industry?
FW: SENTECH Instruments operates in different business areas. About 15 years ago we sold the first standard ellipsometer for measuring anti-reflective coatings for photovoltaic applications. Today we offer a full product range for quality control in Si solar cells, and R&D.
In 2010/2011 the solar branch had a share of nearly 30% of SENTECH Instruments overall turnover. More than 500 quality control systems for single layer AR coatings have been sold. In the last 5 years there was a renewed growth of the solar market.
Therefore, we expect the PV products to contribute more and more to our turnover. The ongoing system change, into a world driven by alternative energies, will boost the demand for PV products and increase the business of the industrial solar cell manufacturers. That’s why there will be an even greater need for quality control solutions like our ellipsometers.
