Global Solar Technology February 2010 (3.2)

www.globalsolartechnology.com

Volume 3 Number 2 February 2010

NEW PRODUCTS

INDUSTRY NEWS

INTERNATIONAL DIARY

Solar cellS on ultra-thin cryStalline Silicon

‘Printing’ PV electrodeS onto flexible SubStrateS

how Sanmina-Sci determined itS alternatiVe energieS Strategy

Gloabl Solar Technology Volume 3 Num

ber 2February 2010

News for the Solar Manufacturing Industry

Eric PetersInterview InsideSolar cellS on ultra-thin cryStalline

Silicon

‘Printing’ PV electrodeS onto flexible SubStrateS

how Sanmina-Sci determined itS alternatiVe energieS Strategy

NEW PRODUCTS

INDUSTRY NEWS

INTERNATIONAL DIARY

Eric PetersInterview Inside

Volume 3 Number 2 February 2010


Global Solar Technology – February 2010 – 1www.globalsolartechnology.com

50 µm

10 cm2

wafer

Contents

2 Still in flux... Alan Rae

TechNoloGy FocuS

6 Solar cells on ultra-thin crystalline silicon Robert Mertens, Ph.D., IMEC & K.U.Leuven,

12 ‘Printing’ PV electrodes onto flexible substrates Mark David Miller, Extrusion Dies Industries, LLC

16 How Sanmina-SCI determined its alternative energies strategy

Sundar M. Kamath, Ph.D., Sanmina-SCI Corp.

SpecIal FeaTureS

22 Interview—Eric Peeters, Dow Corning Solar Business23 A brief talk with GE’s Minesh Shah26 Sitting down with Lux Research’s Ted Sullivan28 Company profile: Oerlikon Solar

reGular FeaTureS

4 Industry News24 Analyst buzz30 New Products40 International Diary

Visit the website for more news & content: www.globalsolartechnology.com.

Contents

TÜV Rheinland’s solar simulator in Cologne makes possible extensive testing of photovoltaic solar modules using artificial sunlight and climate chambers. (Photo: TÜV Rheinland)

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Volume 3, Number 2 February 2010

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Editorial

The environment our industry does business in is still changing on a daily basis. Feed-in tariffs are changing in Germany (downwards), which should help generate short-term demand to meet the deadlines, and economies are starting their slow recovery. Copenhagen came and went (and did anything happen?). Significant sunny areas of the US southwest—a million acres—are now off-limits to solar development under the recent “California Desert Protection” Act (that part you have heard about) but also mandates a review (that you didn’t hear about) of several million acres of Department of Defense, Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management land and environmental impact studies to speed the permitting process.

Alternative energy still depends heavily on regulation and subsidies. Subsidies depend on politicians. Politicians depend on voters. And voters are becoming yet more confused over whether they are getting the right story on global warming. After the University of East Anglia e-mail debacle, a new phase of “Climategate” has opened with allegations that NOAA and other agencies manipulated the data by selectively eliminating rural, high latitude and high altitude stations which don’t show the same warming trends as, for example, urban stations.

In a recent report, E. Michael Smith and certified consulting meteorologist Joseph D’Aleo discovered extensive manipulation of the temperature data by the U.S. Government’s two primary climate centers: the National Climate Data Center (NCDC) in Asheville, North Carolina, and the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) at Columbia University in New York City. Smith and D’Aleo accuse these centers of manipulating temperature data to give the appearance of warmer temperatures than actually occurred by trimming the number and location of weather observation stations. The report is available online at http://icecap.us/images/uploads/NOAAroleinclimategate.pdf and was covered

in a television documentary on January 14.The statistics in the report are chilling

(!)—for example they allege that data from 60% of Russian territory was eliminated, Canadian reporting stations dropped from 600 to 35 and Chinese from 400 to 35, and various dubious statistical adjustments were made. Those of us with a background in statistics will know that data selection and statistical treatment can alter trends dramatically—in either way. The danger is that the argument becomes one of “my data is better than your data” or “my analysis is better than your analysis.”

Does this alter the fact that we need to develop alternative energy sources to complement and eventually replace limited fossil fuels—no! But the public has been educated with the sound bite equation that global warning = carbon dioxide = fossil fuels = we need to take action. Alter the importance of the first item, and the importance of taking action on alternative energy may not be attractive to politicians or their constituents. Make sure your part of the industry does not let your local politicians forget that solar power is a growth engine for jobs, as well as a being sustainable and increasingly economic. We need a combination of incentives (such as feed-in tariffs) combined with legislation that specifies that new construction should include a renewable energy source that supplies at least x% of the building’s energy consumption.

There’s nothing chilly about this issue of Global Solar Technology—enjoy the interviews with industry insiders and technical articles that will help your business to grow!

—Alan Rae, PhD

Dr. Alan Rae

Still in flux...

Technical Editor, Global Solar Technology

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Title


Industry news

Industry newsBTu International receives $5.5 million in solar ordersBTU International recently received approximately US$5.5 million in orders from Asia/Pacific customers for BTU solar processing equipment. The majority of the equipment will be used for contact formation in a new high efficiency process for the manufacture of silicon solar cells. The balance of the ordered equipment consists of current-generation metallization systems. Revenue recognition for these orders is expected during the first half of 2010. www.btu.com

Meyer Burger and 3S Industries plan to mergeMeyer Burger Technology Ltd and 3S Industries Ltd are to merge and to become the first global technology group in the solar industry that will cover the most important technologies of the photovoltaic value chain, from solar silicon to entire solar systems. The combined group will offer fully integrated manufacturing solutions for the solar industry, comprising machines and automation systems, critical consumer goods, process expertise and local services from a single source. The combination of these core competences is unique in the industry and will enable to significantly reduce costs along the entire production chain, with the aim of achieving faster grid parity for solar power. www.meyerburger.ch, www.3-s.ch

Solar panel glut peaked in Mid-2009, says iSuppliAlthough the global solar panel market remains in an acute state of oversupply, the inventory glut plaguing the industry has begun to abate somewhat due to surprisingly strong demand from Germany, according to iSuppli Corp. iSuppli now is forecasting that Germany will have installed 2.5 gigawatts worth of solar panels in 2009, compared to its earlier forecast of 1.53 GW. This will help drive worldwide demand for solar panels to 5.2 GW in 2009, up from iSuppli’s former expectation of 3.9 GW. Nevertheless, global demand for solar panels still is expected to fall by 3.8 percent in 2009 compared to 2008, a dramatic change from the double-digit growth seen in recent years. www.isuppli.com

Suntech selects arizona for first u.S. manufacturing plantSuntech Power Holdings Co., Ltd., announced that its first U.S. manufacturing plant for the growing North American market would be located in the greater Phoenix, Arizona, area. The plant will have an initial production capacity of 30 megawatts and is expected to begin production in the third quarter of 2010. The announcement makes Suntech the first Chinese cleantech leader to bring manufacturing jobs to America. The Suntech U.S. plant will employ over 75 full-time employees at launch and may double its staff within the year as the North American market develops. Initially starting with 30 MW of PV module production capacity, the Suntech plant is configured for growth to respond to the expected expansion of the U.S. solar market in the coming years. www.suntech-power.com

Global market for advanced materials and devices for renewable energy to be worth $16.9B in 2014According to a new technical market research report, Advanced Materials and Devices for Renewable Energy (EGY053B) from BCC Research, the global market for advanced materials and devices for renewable energy is estimated to be worth $11.6 billion in 2009 but is expected to increase to $16.9 billion in 2014, for a five-year compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7.8%. The largest segment of the market, solar energy (photovoltaics and thermal), is expected to increase to $13.1 billion in 2014, after rising at a CAGR of 9.5% from the 2009 value of $8.3 billion. www.bccresearch.com

Dow corning opens Solar Solutions application & Business center in Newark, californiaDow Corning Corp. opened a Solar Solutions Application & Business Center in Newark, California, that will serve as its West Coast hub for customer sales, product evaluation and the development of commercialization strategy. The center, located within Dow Corning’s 32,130-square-foot manufacturing facility, features state-of-the-art materials development and characterization

laboratories as well as testing facilities, allowing customers to evaluate environmental aging and performance capabilities on-site. www.dowcorning.com

JpSa receives Judges’ award for New hampshire high Technology council product of the year 2009JP Sercel Associates, Inc., (JPSA) of Manchester, NH was selected as a New Hampshire High Technology Council (NHHTC) Product of the Year 2009 Judges’ Award winner for their PV-5000 thin film photovoltaic laser scribing systems for high volume production of thin film on glass solar panels. This award was based on innovation, performance, value, and addressing unmet needs in the market place. JPSA was one of four finalists chosen to present their innovative products in a tradeshow format and on stage to members of the NHHTC and the public on November 17th, 2009. JPSA’s PV-5000 is a fully automated laser system that enables thin film solar panel manufacturers to set new benchmarks in cost and solar energy conversion efficiency. www.jpsalaser.com

Masdar selects linde to reduce carbon footprint of solar modulesLinde Gases, a division of The Linde Group, and Masdar PV GmbH, a manufacturer of large-scale, thin-film solar modules, have signed an agreement to qualify and adopt Linde’s on-site generated fluorine, a zero global warming solution for photovoltaic (PV) module process chamber cleaning. Masdar PV will eliminate the use of the greenhouse gas nitrogen trifluoride (NF3), which has a global warming potential 17,200 times that of CO2, from their state-of-the-art thin-film production facility in Ichtershausen, near Erfurt (Germany). Linde has pioneered efforts to achieve the lowest carbon footprint possible for dry chamber cleaning in thin-film PV, TFT-LCD and semiconductor manufacturing by installing more than 30 Generation-F® on-site fluorine generators in the electronics industry. www.linde.com, www.masdarpv.com

unidym and Nano-c enter exclusive license agreement for fullerene derivatives used in solar cellsIn recent years, researchers and companies

seeking to commercialize novel thin film organic photovoltaic (OPV) solar technologies have focused on using fullerene derivatives as the n-type semiconductor in bulk heterojunction organic solar cells. The use of fullerenes as the electron acceptor and transporter results in higher quantum efficiencies of the cells.

Unidym, Inc., a majority owned subsidiary of Arrowhead Research Corporation, entered an exclusive license agreement with Nano-C for patents covering fullerene derivatives. The license provides Nano-C exclusive rights to U.S. Patent No. 5,739,376 and foreign counterparts in the field of photovoltaics.

“The ‘376 patent family covers many of the fullerene derivatives used in OPV, including the widely used C60 and C70 PCBM compounds,” stated Viktor Vejins, CEO of Nano-C. “We are delighted to add this patent to our growing IP portfolio, which further strengthens our position in fullerene manufacture, purification, separation and derivatization.” www.unidym.com, www.nano-c.com

Sopogy inaugurates the world’s first MicrocSp solar thermal plantThe 2 Megawatt thermal energy project which spans across 3.8 acres in the hot Kona desert utilizes 1,000 Sopogy proprietary MicroCSP™ solar panels. Through the use of mirrors and optics and an integrated sun tracker, these panels achieve higher efficiencies than conventional solar panels. The system also uses a unique thermal energy storage buffer that allows energy to be produced during cloudy periods and to shift energy produced from the day to evening periods. The project name: “Holaniku at Keahole Point” comes from the Hawaiian term for a location that has everything required for self-sufficiency. www.sopogy.com

prism Solar and TSec agree to uS$3.6M contract to optimize pV cell technologyPrism Solar Technologies and The Solar Energy Consortium (TSEC) reached an agreement on a $3.6 million federal grant secured by US Congressman Maurice Hinchey’s Office for Prism Solar. Prism Solar will receive $3,240,000 to manage a project to commercialize a unique solar bifacial ribbon cell technology that can be utilized with Prism Solar’s Holographic Planar Concentrator (HPC) technology. The $3.6 million that Congressman Hinchey secured is included in the fiscal year 2010 Defense Appropriations bill. The

parties have reached agreement that the funds will be provided to TSEC for Prism, which will purchase equipment and engage in research and development of a new photovoltaic bifacial ribbon cell through partnerships with universities and other industry partners. The first 12-18 months of this new initiative will entail research and development and the production of the new solar ribbon product. Prism Solar Technologies will use the product itself in its second generation of modules, but the military, as well as other companies, are also expected to have a deep interest in the product. www.prismsolar.com

Material suppliers combine forces to address growing industry needsK.R. Anderson Inc. and Krayden Inc. have combined their marketing forces to service, support and supply the growing solar industry. Both companies are leading suppliers for high-technology applications in manufacturing and represent “The Premier Material Manufacturers” in the industry, including Henkel, Chomerics, EMS, 3M, Lord and Huntsman. With 16 combined stocking locations throughout the USA, Mexico and Asia, they are well situated to follow any applications from initial design to final production. Krayden and KR Andesrson offer the most comprehensive solutions for today’s photovoltaic assembly challenges including conformal coating, potting and encapsulating, sealants and adhesives, conductive ink and epoxies and lead-free solder chemicals. www.kranderson.com, www.krayden.com

ruSNaNo invests in production of new generation high-efficiency solar power plantsThe Supervisory Council of the Russian Corporation of Nanotechnologies (RUSNANO) approved the project aimed at production of nano-heterostructure photoconverters with the efficiency reaching 37-45%. Solar modules and new generation power plants, equipped with Fresnel lenses and sun tracking system will also be produced under the auspices of the project. It will commercialize the outcomes of research conducted in the Ioffe Physical Technical Institute in the field of fundamental scientific and technical principles and technological basis for constructing the main blocks of concentrator solar photovoltaic plants. www.rosnano.ru


Appointments

Industry news

Global Solar Technology – February 2010 – 5

continued on page 32

abound Solar Abound Solar (formerly AVA Solar), appointed Thomas Tiller chief executive officer.

calyxoDr Florian Holzapfel took over as the new CEO of Calyxo GmbH, a subsidiary of Q-Cells SE.

enecsys Enecsys Limited has named Mossadiq Umedaly as executive chairman.

eSolar eSolar appointed John Van Scoter as chief executive officer.

First Solar First Solar Inc. appointed TK Kallenbach executive vice president of marketing and product management.

Glasspoint SolarGlassPoint Solar appointed John O’Donnell as vice president of business development.

SolarcitySolarCity®, appointed David White chief financial officer.

Solarfun Solarfun Power Holdings Co., Ltd. appointed Gareth Kung as chief financial officer.

SopogySopogy, Inc., promoted Van Matsushige to vice president of sales.

SunivaSuniva®, Inc., appointed Marco Garcia as chief commercial offer.

Sputnik engineering Sputnik Engineering appointed Didier Jeannelle managing director for its French subsidiary, Sputnik Engineering France S.A.R.L. Daniel Freudiger moves to Sputnik’s Swiss headquarters to become head of sales and marketing.


Solar cells on ultra-thin crystalline silicon

Today crystalline Si (c-Si) based photovoltaics (PV) is by far the most important solar cell technology, taking more than 75% of the worldwide market. During the last two years thin film PV, using materials such as amorphous Si, cadmium-telluride or copper-indium-diselenide is drawing much attention and several thin film PV production plants have been commissioned or put in operation, claiming production costs considerably smaller than that for c-Si PV. Therefore in order to stay competitive with non c-Si thin film cells the production costs of c-Si PV have to be lowered. In that respect the following macro-trends in the production of c-Si based PV can be observed.

The use of less grams of Si per watt peak (Wp)Today the Si wafer indeed represents 40% of the c-Si cell module cost. In order to decrease that cost the Si lost during wafer-ing must be minimized (or in the limit completely avoided), the thickness of the active layer should be reduced and the conversion efficiency of the Si solar cells should increase up to or above 20%.

The reduction of the manufacturing costReduction of the c-Si PV manufacturing cost is possible by:• equipmentscalingandincreaseof the areal throughput• theuseofPVdedicatedequipment• upscalingofthefabsizefromMW/yr to GW/yr• reductionoreliminationoftheuse of expensive materials such as silver paste• morestandardizationandverticalintegration• integrationofthecelland

module manufacturing.The combination of these macro-trends results in a speeding up of the c-Si PV learning curve, strengthened by increased price competition from non c-Si thin film technologies and an accelerated reduction of the feed-in-tariffs e.g. in Germany. A critical aspect in this development is the industry-wide acceptance of a roadmap for c-Si based PV. In that respect IMEC shares the vision that the roadmap should be based on a sustained decrease of the Si consumption per Wp and an increase of the conversion efficiency.

a possible c-SI pV roadmap viewed by IMecFigure 1 shows a possible c-Si PV roadmap as viewed by IMEC. The essential characteristic of this roadmap is the sustained decrease in cell thickness. Starting from this technology we foresee two paths in our roadmap. The first one, represented by the upper part in Figure 1, is evolutionary and includes a sustained decrease in cell thickness from the actual 200 µm in the standard cell to 40 µm (or even 3 µm) in the ultra-thin U-cell. We expect that by 2020 these ultra-thin cells will be the industrial standard. This evolution will however include two technology generations. In the near future a substrate thickness between 100 and 180 µm will be the standard and this will require modifications of the cell structure and the process sequence. At IMEC we have selected and further developed the industrial passivated emitter and rear cell concept, or i-PERC in short, as a quickly

Possible avenues for cost reduction of crystalline silicon photovoltaics are reviewed. Driving forces in this process are the use of less grams of Si per Wp and the reduction of the manufacturing cost. A possible crystalline Si PV roadmap as viewed by IMEC is discussed. Two important developments are treated in more detail. The first development deals with the stress-induced lift-off method (SLIM) for kerf-loss free wafering of ultra-thin (40 to 50 micron) crystalline Si foils. A second lift-off method to create even thinner (a few micron thick) Si foils is the empty space in Si method. Both techniques require new techniques for handling these ultra-thin Si foils and new assembly methods for the photovoltaic modules.

Robert Mertens, Ph.D., IMEC & K.U.Leuven, Leuven, Belgium


Keywords: Crystalline Silicon, Solar Cells, Cost Reduction, Road Map

Originally published in the Proceedings of the SMTA International Conference, San Diego, California, October 4 - 8, 2009

200 µm 180…100µm 120…80 µm

<20 µm 5 µm

50…3 µm

“U- cell” “i- PERC”

“epi- cell” “Thin-film”

2008 201

0

201

5

202

0

“standard cell” “i

2- BC”

Figure 1. A possible c-Si PV roadmap viewed by IMEC.



implementable industrial solution.Although the i-PERC concept can be

used with substrate thicknesses as small as 80 µm1, difficulties with the assembly of such thin cells with contacts at both sides will probably necessitate a transition to cell structures having both contacts at the rear side. The i2-BC (industrial interdigi-tated back contacted) cell is such a cell structure that can be used for thicknesses of typically 80 to 120 µm. The technology generation, to be implemented in industry around 2020, is referred to as the U-cell (Ultra-thin) cell. In the first generation of the U-cell technology 40 to 50 µm thick Si substrates, prepared by the SLIM (Stress-Induced-Lift-off-Method) technique will be used. The second generation of the U-cells will use even thinner (a few microns thick) c-Si foils, made by the empty space in Si method. For both types of U-cells the Si foils will, prior to junction formation, be glued to a glass layer with the size of the module and processed in parallel using low temperature heterojunction formation

processes.In parallel with

this evolutionary path our road map includes

a disruptive path, including epitaxial thin film Si solar cells, consisting of a thin (< 20 µm) high quality epitaxial layer on top of a low cost upgraded metallurgical grade Si substrate. This cell is referred to as the epi-cell. By 2020 the epi thin film cells will probably evolve in c-Si thin-film cells with thicknesses of only 5 µm, grown on glass or ceramic substrates.

It is important to note that several technologies will probably coexist and will be used in different applications.

In this paper progress made at IMEC in these fields during recent years will be discussed.

Industrial-type perc cellThe fabrication of solar cells on thin (below 150 µm) Si wafers has received much attention in recent years due to the shortage and the high cost of Si feedstock. However, it is well known that two major challenges emerge when cells become thinner, i.e., the reduced long wavelength

photon collection and the increased cell bowing, which respectively result in the loss of efficiency and production yield. The i-PERC is a quickly implementable industrial solution to meet these challenges. Figure 2 compares the structure of the i-PERC with that of a standard cell. Rather than the use of a full Al BSF (Back Surface Field) as in the standard cell, a passivation stack consisting of a layer of low quality oxide and a layer of SiNx is deposited on the rear side of the substrate. The dielectric stack is locally opened by laser ablation using a pulsed Niodymium-Yag laser. The resulting circular contact holes have a diameter of approximately 20 µm. An Al layer is then screen printed or evaporated on the backside and alloyed.

During the firing step the BSF is locally formed in the openings (Figure 3). It is found that the interface between the Si and AlSi alloy is primarily along {111} planes, as observed with SEM after the AlSi alloy is removed in a hot HCl solution (Figure 3 right, shown upside down).

In the new i-PERC structure, most of the Si rear surface is separated from the electrode by the passivation stack, where

Al

emitter

ARC

Ag

substrate

Std. Si solar cell

i-PERC solar cell

Passivation stack Local Al BSF

Full Al BSF

Al

i-PERC solar cell

Passivation stack

Local Al BSF

Silicon

Passivation stack

Al

AlSi

P+

SEM picture after AlSi removal

Figure 2. Design of the i-PERC cell. Figure 3. Formation of local back surface field.

i-PERC

Diameter contact holes:

20µm

Figure 4. Laser beam induced current mapping of the i-PERC cell.

100 cm ² 1.5 Ohm.cm CZ solar cells, flat

etched

610

620

630

640

650

50 100 150 200 250 300

Substrate thickness [µm]

Op

e

n

Circ

ui

t

Vol

ta

g

e [

m

V]

Full Al BSF

i-

PERC

Std. industrial Si solar

cell

i-

PERC

Figure 5. The open circuit voltage of i-PERC vs. full Al BSF.



the surface recombination velocity is lower than that at the local BSF passivated open-ings (typically ~700 versus ~1400 cm/s2.

Figure 4 shows a typical LBIC image (laser wavelength 850 nm) measured on the 80 µm thick i-PERC solar cell. The pattern of the rear local BSF can be clearly seen. The current generated in the regions above the passivation stack is higher than the one from the regions above the local openings, thus indicating a lower surface recombination velocity. The effectiveness of the passivation stack can be seen by comparing the open circuit voltage Voc

of standard cells with that of the i-PERC cells. As shown by Figure 5 the V

oc of the i-PERC

cells is almost independent of the thickness of the substrate; on the other hand the V

oc

of the standard cells decreases for smaller substrate thicknesses. This clearly indicates the lower rear side surface recombination

velocities in the case of the i-PERC cells.

Some recent i-PERC results, ob-tained at IMEC, are shown in Table 1.

Figures 6 and 7 compare a conven-tional large area (156 cm2) 130 µm thick conventional full Al Back-Surface-Field cell with the new i-PERC cell on the same type

of substrate with identical thickness and area. Comparison of these two figures clearly shows that the bowing problem can be eliminated by using the new i-PERC structure.

Industrial interdigitated back con-tacted cellsThe next technology generation on the roadmap are the industrial interdigitated back contacted cells (I2BC) schematically represented on Figure 8.

The wafer thickness for this type of cell is in the 80 to 120 µm range. Important characteristics of this type of cell are the texturing at the front side, the formation of the p-type emitter by the alloying of a screen-printed aluminum layer and the passivation of both surfaces. As all contacts of this cell are at the rear side new mod-

ule assembly techniques are required, as schematically shown by Figure 9.

An advantage of back-contacted solar cells is that they allow a simplified inter-connection and module manufacturing technology that can be easily automated. IMEC has proposed a new method that involves a fully automated pick-and-place of the cells and all the tabbing materials. In this concept the front cover glass (covered by a first sheet of encapsulant, e.g. EVA) stays at the same place while robot arms are laying out the cells, face down on top of it, at their final position. Conductive adhesive is then dispensed on the contact pads of all the cells. The triangles in Figure 9 represent the dispensers, the solid lines the p-type contact channel and the dashed lines the n-type channel; both of which are covered by the conductive adhesive. The tabbing material is picked and placed at its correct position. The module assembling is fin-ished when a second layer of encapsulant and the back sheet are positioned. This approach has led to prototype back-contact modules with high fill factors. u (= ultra-thin) cell of the first generationIt is probable that by 2020 the thickness of crystalline Si solar cells will be reduced to 50 µm. This also corresponds to the optimal thickness of a crystalline Si cell, making the best trade-off between wafer cost and cell efficiency6. Moreover this will

Material Thickness (µm)

Area (cm2)

Eff (%)

Ref

Cz 130 100 17.6 [3]

Cz 80 78 16.6 [1]

Multi 180 100 17.3 [4]

Multi 120 156 16.8 [5]

Multi 120 225 16.1 Priv. com.

EFG 170 100 16.0 [2]

Table 1. Best i-PERC results at IMEC.

Figure 7. A 156 cm2 130 μm multicrystalline Si i-PERC cell where bowing is eliminated.

Figure 6. A 156 cm2 130 μm multicrystalline Si full Al BSF cell showing bowing problems.

Figure 8. Schematic cross section of I2BC solar cells on an n-type substrate. Figure 9. The assembly of a module with backside contacted Si solar cells.



allow the Si consumption to be reduced to 2g/Wp.

Recently6 IMEC has presented a new wafering method for the production of ul-tra-thin crystalline Si. This new lift-off pro-cess named SLIM-cut (for Stress-induced LIft-off Method) requires only the use of a screen printer and a belt furnace; no ion-implantation, porous layer or additional thickening by epitaxy is needed to obtain high quality wafers in the thickness range of 50 µm without kerf-loss. As indicated in Figure 10 the starting material is a Si sub-strate. A metallic layer is screen-printed on top of it and the wafer is annealed at high temperature in a belt furnace. Upon cool-ing down, the metal layer, as well as the Si substrate, undergo a thermal contraction, but the mismatch in coefficient of thermal expansion between the metal and the Si induces a high stress field in the substrate. To release the stress in the system the metal layer snaps off the parent substrate, peeling off at the same time a Si layer of approximately 40-50 µm. Figure 11 shows a photograph of the resulting substrate and of the Si layer that has been lifted off, still attached to the metal layer.

The substrate is cut along the whole surface but remains otherwise intact. It can be re-used for further

additional layer lift-off. Starting the process from an ingot or from a very thick (several cm) substrate, the aim is to produce a big number of such thin daughter wafers from one mother substrate.

The metal layer is then removed in a metal-etching solution, resulting in a clean and stress-free Si layer. A SEM picture reveals a thickness of 40-50 µm relatively constant over the wafer (Figure 12).

Since the process is purely mechanical, the characteristics of the resulting daughter wafer will depend on the mechanical prop-erties of the parent substrate. In particular, since the mechanical properties of Si are highly anisotropic, the crystal orientation plays an important role. <111> is known to be the weakest plane in the Si crystal. As a consequence cleaving along this plane is energetically favorable and occurs with a higher probability. A fracture parallel to the surface will therefore be favored in a substrate oriented as such.

Figure 13 shows the comparison of the profile of a surface in the case of a parent substrate oriented <100> and oriented <111> over a length of 1 cm. It appears

very clearly that a <111> oriented substrate will produce daughter wafers with a much smaller roughness and is thus favorable for the SLIM-cut method.

In one of the resulting thin Czochral-ski daughter wafers a solar cell was made with a heterojunction emitter process de-scribed elsewhere7. The 1 cm2 cell reached an efficiency of 10.0% (FF = 67.8%, Jsc = 26.7 mA/cm2, V

oc = 550 mV). There

was no rear-surface passivation and no intentional surface texturing. The current-voltage characteristic of the cell is shown in Figure 14. These results indicate that the electronic quality of the material is largely preserved during the lift-off process in spite of the high stress involved. Much higher

Stress activation

Si substrate (ingot)

to be re-used

Solar cell

processing

Cle

a

ni

ng/

p

oli

shi

n

g

Crack initiation

and propagation

Stress-inducing layer

Etching

Figure 10. SLIM cut: experimental achievements.Figure 11. Photograph of the structure after the top layer (b) is peeled off the parent substrate (a) (25cm2).

50 µm

10 cm2

wafer

<100

>

1

cm

<111

>

Figure 12. SEM picture of the film after flattening and metal cleaning of the bi-metal.

Figure 13. Comparison of the roughness (measured with a Dektak profilometer) of surfaces in the case of processing on a <100> oriented (solid line) and a <111> oriented (dashed line) parent substrate.

Figure 14. Current-voltage characteristics of a 1 cm2 all made in a SLIM-substrate.



efficiencies are expected when surface pas-sivation and texturing are introduced.

In view of calculating the Si consump-tion of such device, we assume that 50 µm of Si are lost in a cleaning step to prepare the surface between two lift-off processes. Then we compare the Si consumption of one 40 µm cell of 10% with a 250 µm cell of 15.5% (obtained with 200 µm of kerf loss). We obtain a factor of 3.2. Assum-ing a Si consumption of 10 g/Wp for the standard technology, we reach already, for the unoptimized cell produced from the SLIM-cut method, a Si consumption of 3.1 g/Wp. This figure is expected to decrease even more as a more refined process is applied.

An important point is that for the SLIM-cut cells the 40 to 50 µm thick Si foils are bonded to a glass substrate before the junction formation process. Conse-

quently, the junction formation must occur at low temperatures e.g. by the deposition of a heterojunction emitter using amor-phous Si.

u (= ultra-thin) cells of the second generationBeyond 2020 the cell thickness will most probably further

reduce to thicknesses of a few microns only. A concept that could provide such a thin monocrystalline silicon foil is the empty-space-in-silicon technique8. Following this method thin films of silicon can be formed by reorganization of regular arrays of cylindrical voids (macropores) at high temperature. A layer transfer process for thin-film Si cells based on the reorganization of such macropores has been developed and is schematically shown in Figure 15. First macropores are formed by selective etching (step 1), the pores are annealed (step 2) thereby creating a thin (thickness of 1 to 3 µm) Si film, detachment and transfer of the thin film to a low-cost substrate (step 3), and solar cell processing step 4.

Figure 16 shows an example of a 1 µm thin film obtained after annealing inhydrogenat1150˚C.Itcanbeclearly

observed that the thin film is separated by a gap from the mother substrate. After de-tachment of the film the mother substrate can be reused again.

Large-area thin films can be trans-ferred to glass substrates and processed into proof-of-concept solar cells, demon-strating the feasibility of the concept for photovoltaic applications. The current volt-age characteristic of such a cell is shown in Figure 17, taken from Reference 9.

epitaxial thin film solar cellsEpitaxial thin film Si solar cells, consisting of a thin (~ 20 µm) high quality epitaxial layer on top of a low-cost Si substrate (such as metallurgical grade Si) are an attractive alternative for bulk crystalline Si solar cells. Epitaxial solar cells usually have low short-circuit currents, due to the limited thickness of the epitaxial layer. This problem can be solved by introducing light trapping in the epitaxial layer. This can be achieved by a plasma texturing step to provide oblique light coupling and the use of a porous Si reflector between the substrate and the active layer as shown in the cross-section schematic in Figure 18. Applying an electrochemical etching process prior to epitaxial deposition we can create a stack of alternatively low and high porosity layers, which act as a Bragg reflector and results in an internal reflectance of about 80% and in cell efficiencies of 13.5% on low-cost Si

Figure 16. Example of a 1-μm- thin film obtained after annealing in hydrogen.

Figure 15. Layer-transfer process for thin-film silicon solar cells based on the reorganization of macroporous silicon at high temperature: formation of macro-pores (step 1), annealing (step 2), detachment and transfer of the thin film to a low-cost substrate (step 3), and solar-cell processing (step 4).

Jsc = 13 mA/cm2

Voc = 430 mV

FF = 75%

No passiv.

Passiv. best

Efficiency 4.1%

Figure 17. Current-voltage characteristic of first proof-of-concept cells on silicon films obtained by the empty-space-in-silicon technique. The cell thickness is 1 micron and no light trapping has been used. (after Reference 9).

Epi p-Si

A

g

A

g A

g

A

g

SiNx

Textured

surface

Emitter n-

Si

Al rear contact

x

Porous Si stack

of alternating

high/low porosity

…

Figure 18. Cross-section schematics of a thin-film epitaxial solar cell with the porous Si Bragg reflector explicitly shown.



substrates10.Recently, we have improved the

performance of the porous Si reflectors by chirping the porous Si structures11. A “chirped” structure refers to spatially peri-odic structures with the period changing across the structure. For this application, chirping the porous Si layer means that the periodicity in thickness of the different layers is varied across the stack as shown in Figure 19. This variation is easy to achieve by programming the current source to the desired current density versus time during electrochemical etching. Reflectors includ-ing such chirped structures and epitaxial layers were experimentally characterized by analysis of the reflectance spectrum. The wavelength band with high reflectance was broadened by at least 5% (Figure 20).

The total thickness of the chirped re-flector used in Figure 14 is approximately 7 micrometer, which took less than 300 s to be etched. The refractive index ranges from 2.5 for the high porosity layers to 3.2 for the low porosity layers. In solar cell struc-tures, the enhanced internal reflectance from chirped reflectors results, as expected, in an increased short-circuit current den-sity and efficiency as shown in Table 2.

Thin film crystalline Si solar cells on glass or ceramic substratesThe cost of photovoltaic electricity could be lowered substantially if efficient solar

cells could be made from polycrystalline Si thin films on inexpensive substrates. IMEC recently presented promising solar cell results that were obtained on polycrystalline Si films made by aluminum-induced crystallization (AIC) of amorphous Si followed by high-temperature epitaxial thickening12. The AIC process leads to very thin polycrystalline Si seed layers with a typical grain size in the range of 5 to 20 µm13.

Thin film polycrystalline Si films can be prepared on alumina substrates (Coor-sTek ADS 996R) by epitaxial thickening of AIC seed layers. The substrates were covered by spin-on flowable oxide (Fox—25 from Dow Corning) to reduce their roughness. Next, double layers of Al and amorphous Si were deposited on these sub-strates in an electron-beam high-vacuum evaporator. In between both depositions, the aluminum was oxidized by exposure to air for two minutes. The nominal thick-ness of the Aluminum and amorphous Si

layers was fixed at 200 nm and 230-250 nm respectively. After de-position, the samples were annealed in a tube furnace under nitrogen ambient at 500˚Cforfourhours.During this anneal-

ing, the amorphous Si crystallized into polycrystalline Si and both layers exchange places13. Finally, the top aluminum layer was removed by selective wet chemical etch-ing. Absorber layers were deposited on the AIC layers by thermal CVD. The deposi-tions were performed in a single-wafer epi-taxial reactor (ASM Epsilon 2000) under atmospheric pressure, at a temperature of 1130˚C.doublelayersofp+andpSiwithvariable thickness ratios were made. The p+ layer acts as a back surface field (BSF) while the p layer is the actual absorber layer. The total epitaxial layer thickness was always between 2 and 6 µm.

After epitaxial deposition, the samples were plasma textured in a prototype reactor from Secon using microwave antennas positioned above the substrates, with SiF6

and N

2O as precursor gases.

Emitters (p-type) were formed in two different ways. The first type of emitter was obtained by phosphorous diffusion at 860˚Cfromadopedpyrolithicoxide.Thishomojunction emitter was typically around 600 nm thick. The second type of

Figure 19. SEM cross-section of a chirped porous silicon reflector. Note that the period of the structure is lower close to the top surface in comparison with the bottom surface.

Figure 20. Experimentally measured reflectance curves of samples with Bragg reflectors, with and without chirping the structure.

Reflector Jsc (mA/cm2)

Voc(mV)

FF(%)

Eff.(%)

16 sublayers, fixed thickness 27.8 603 78 13.1

Chirped reflector, 40 sublayers

28.7 598 77.6 13.3

Chirped reflector, 60 sublayers

29.1 606 77.9 13.7

Chirped reflector, 60 sublayers + DARC

29.5 605 77.5 13.9

Table 2. Solar cell results for thin-film epitaxial cells on low cost highly doped Si with “conventional” multilayer porous Si reflector and improved “chirped” reflector (screen printed, cell size 70 cm2).

continued on page 20


‘Printing’ PV electrodes onto flexible substrates

Photovoltaic (PV) cell technology is moving toward flexible or thin-film systems as the means of achieving the economies of scale needed to make Edison’s prescient vision of unlimited solar power a reality. Thin-film PV structures have an electronically-ac-tive core consisting of fluidized anode and cathode materials that have been coated or “printed” (to use the semiconductor

industry term) onto flexible substrates. Taking the form of slurries with high solids content, these fluidized electrodes are less costly to produce than the crystalline silicon in rigid solar panels, and they make possible high-volume production in reel-to-reel or continuous web coating processes.

One such process is slot die coating. It promises to increase the speed and

Slot die coating, widely used in the production of lithium-ion batteries and liquid crystal displays (LCDs), promises to increase the speed and reliability of electrode coating while reducing its cost. It can also improve productivity, precision and optical properties for other components of thin-film PV systems. This paper introduces slot die coating for PV cell technology and discusses the advantages that slot die coating presents over other techniques for use with flexible solar systems, such as vacuum deposition, spray coating, ink jet printing and roll coating.

by Mark David Miller, Extrusion Dies Industries, LLC (EDI)


Keywords: Flexible Substrates, Slot Die Coating, High Volume Production, Reel-toReel, Continuous Web

“I’d put my money on the sun and solar energy. What a source of power! I hope we don’t have to wait ‘till oil and coal run out before we tackle that.” —Thomas A. Edison (1931)

Figure 1. Complete fluid-coating line in laboratory at EDI’s headquarters in Wisconsin is shown applying coating to copper foil.



reliability of electrode coating and reduce its cost. In addition, slot die coating can also help to improve productivity, precision and optical properties for other components of thin-film PV systems.

Although they are thin and flexible, these PV systems are complex multi-layer structures. There may be half a dozen active coatings besides the fluidized electrodes, such as UV blockers, protective hard coats, antireflective substances and other functional materials. In addition there are multiple types of polymer films, along with a reflective metal foil, a number of them serving as substrates for the coatings. In their ultimate use on the rooftops of homes and buildings, such structures would nevertheless be lower in cost and simpler to apply than traditional rigid, discrete-panel solar systems.

Slot die coating is widely used in the commercial production of lithium-ion batteries (which also require the coating of electrodes onto flexible substrates) and liquid crystal displays or LCDs (which, like thin film solar systems, have demanding optical requirements). Besides supplying companies in these industries, EDI builds slot coating die systems for manufacturers of rigid, discrete glass-panel solar systems, in addition to developing flexible, continuous-web systems.

A number of other coating or printing techniques are used for flexible solar systems or are in various stages of development for them. Chief among these are vacuum deposition, spray coating, ink jet printing and roll coating. The advantages that slot die coating presents over these techniques are discussed later in this paper.

Slot die system components and operation A slot die is comprised of two stainless

steel body sections that enclose a precision-engineered flow channel, or manifold, that has been machined into one of the sections. A fluid delivery system or pump meters the fluid to be applied to the substrate into the manifold. The fluid flows through the manifold and exits at a slit-like opening between “lips” formed by the two body sections. The substrate to be coated is a film or metal foil that moves from reel to reel in a continuous strip, or “web.” Depending on the slot die coating process used, the fluid coating either is

applied to the substrate directly from the lips or traverses a short distance from the lips to the substrate, being drawn down in thickness by the movement of the substrate over the backing roll.

The main components of a slot die system are:

• Fluid delivery system. The positive-displacement pump provides a non-pulsing, constant feed of fluid to the die. It is a critical piece of equipment that works in combination with an accurate line speed control to determine the coat weight, which is the amount of fluid applied to a given area of substrate.

• Die (also called a coating head). The die is split into top and bottom sections that are

Figure 2. In this close-up extracted from Photo 1, the slot die coating head is visible at left center, with lips pointed toward the copper foil web as it moves past the lip exit, propelled by a system of rolls.

bolted together and may be disassembled and split apart for ease of cleaning. In a typical construction, the body of one type of slot die coating head is about 9 inches (230 mm) long in the machine direction and 5 inches (127 mm) high; widths up to 180 inches (4.5 m) are available, as opposed to a typical maximum of 85 inches (2.1 m) for roll coating. Ultra-flat flow surfaces are critical for applying coatings that must meet the precision tolerances required in solar panel production. EDI can machine surfaces

with a flatness of 0.5 micron over a length of 1 meter.• Manifold. The flow channel that is machined into the die body includes an entry port and a coat hanger-shaped manifold. The widest segment of the coat hanger triangle, the exit slot, corresponds to the coating width. Besides distributing the coating fluid that enters the die to this target width, the manifold maintains its temperature, and ensures a uniform cross-web distribution. The key factor in achieving optimal flow is the contoured geometry of the manifold, which has been machined into the die bodies to

exacting tolerances in accordance with the rheology, or flow properties, of the fluid. Each fluid has its own rheology—a kind of “fingerprint”—which is determined by an analysis of viscosity verses shear rate at a specific temperature.

• Back-up roll. This provides the precision surface for most coating techniques. The characteristics of the roll, such as its degree of concentricity, will provide the basis for the interaction between the substrate, the fluid and the slot coating die.

• Die positioner. This adjustable carriage precisely positions the slot coating die at the optimum angle and proximity to the roll and isolates the die from vibrations that can affect coating application. It is a critical component for stabilizing the



Slot die coating techniquesSlot dies coating application can take several forms, but two methods are particu-larly relevant to thin-film solar systems.

Contact coating involves applying the fluid directly to a substrate, using the die lip to “wipe” the coating fluid onto it. Coating thicknesses as low as 0.00075 inch (18 microns) are achievable.

For direct coating, EDI builds a range of adjustable-lip slot dies which have a flexible lip that is the key to fine-tuning the lip gap profile. This is important in applying slurries such as those used for electrodes, since slurry viscosity changes over the course of a production run and the die needs to be adjusted accordingly. An adjustable-lip slot die can be controlled manually or by means of an automated gauge profiler.

Draw coating involves allowing the fluid to traverse a short distance between the lips of the die and the substrate and using the rotation of the backing roll to draw the fluid down to very low thickness. The distance through which the draw-down takes place can be up to 0.012 inch (305 micron), and the coating thicknesses achieved can be as low as 0.00004 inch (1 micron). Besides its capability for much thinner coatings than are achievable with direct coating, draw coating is better suited for optically clear applications. On the other hand, this process typically runs at lower line speeds. Die lips are fixed rather than adjustable, and coating distribution is varied by means of interchangeable shims.

For draw coating applications, EDI builds a range of fixed-lip slot dies from which fluids can be drawn down by as much as 98%. In commercial uses involving many fluids and substrates, these dies have maintained cross-web coat weight tolerances within 3 to 5% even at coating thicknesses of only 0.00008 inch, or 2 microns. Besides the slot die system components enumerated above, the fixed-lip die system typically includes a vacuum box to remove air trapped between the coating (as it exits the die) and the approaching substrate surface.

For trial runs of slot die coating in a commercial roll coating operation, EDI has developed complete trial-size modules for both adjustable- and fixed-lip coating processes. Each module includes the die,

a fluid-delivery system, an adjustable die positioner, idler rolls and a backing roll. These are unitized within a steel frame which maintains straightness during operation and adjustment. The coating station is mounted on casters and can be rolled into place in an existing production line.

advantages of slot die coatingThe advantages of slot die coating over oth-er coating techniques vary in importance depending on the technique with which slot die coating is compared. Overall, the advantages fall into three main groups: 1) production speed; 2) control over coat weight (the amount of fluid applied to a given substrate area) and cross-web distribu-tion; and 3) raw material management. The last area of advantage is attributable to the fact that, unlike spray and roll coating, slot die coating is a closed system with metered fluid delivery, preventing waste, contamination of the fluid and contamina-tion of the factory environment.

Production speed is an inherent advantage of continuous web processes and an essential factor in the economic advantage of thin-film PV systems over rigid, discrete solar cells. Vacuum deposition, currently the most widely used coating technique for solar systems, builds up a coating surface molecule by molecule and appears to be the slowest option available.

Compared with other options such as roll coating, slot die coating provides

greater productivity. One reason is its flexibility in regard to the viscosity of the fluid being applied. Since a positive displacement pump delivers a constant supply of coating fluid to the slot die, the fluid can contain a higher concentration of solids, which in turn decreases the workload of downstream drying units. In addition, a slot coating die can be designed to run multiple fluids simultaneously through the use of multimanifold slot die technology.

Another productivity gain is possible through two-sided coating. In its work with manufacturers of lithium-ion batteries, EDI has developed systems in which two slot dies are deployed for simultaneously applying anode and cathode slurries to both sides of a substrate.

“Lane coating,” which applies continuous coated lanes in the machine direction alternating with uncoated lanes, allows for increased yield and reduction in fluid use. Lane coating has been employed successfully in applications of up to 48 separate lanes, each 20 mm wide and separate from other lanes by 10 mm gaps. The coating fluid has been applied in register on both sides—critical for preventing unbalanced energy densities.

Control over coat weight and cross-web distribution. Slot die coating provides the greatest available precision and consistency in the application of fluids to substrates. This advantage is critical because in PV systems, as in lithium-ion batteries, electrical uniformity is directly dependent on uniformity of coating. Variations in electrode layers can reduce battery life, cause malfunctions, and even pose safety issues by generating spikes in current. In batteries, thermal runaway has led to explosions. This is one reason why the automotive industry specifies that coating variations be held to less than 1.6% Cpk process capability for the batteries used for hybrid and all-electric vehicles.

Several aspects of the slot die system contribute to its exceptional control over coat weight and transverse distribution. 1) The fluid delivery system delivers fluid at a pulse-free, uniform rate. 2) Variations in coat weight can be adjusted for by coordinating the pumping rate and the line speed. 3) The manifold is designed in accordance with the rheology of the fluid to distribute the fluid uniformly. 4) Cross-web distribution can be fined tuned by means of the lip adjustment system (in flexible lip dies) or the body shim (in fixed-lip dies). And 5) The die positioner or support system positions the die for optimal fluid application.

• interaction between die and moving web. The coating process can be optimized by using the positioner to adjust the angle of attack between die and substrate, the distance between the two, and the degree of offset between the lips of the die.

Figure 3. This complete slot die coating station with all components, from idler roll to backing roll, enables manufacturers to eliminate hours of setup in switching from roll to slot die coating as they carry out product and process development. The system can be rolled into place on coating lines. At top center is Ultracoat V adjustable-lip slot die coating head, with lips pointing toward the roll. The containing structure of the coating station serves as a stabilizer and die positioner.



Raw material management. The completely closed system of a slot coating die is of obvious value for clean-room operations and—combined with constant, pre-metered fluid delivery—provides other advantages, particularly over roll coating. Whereas all of the fluid that goes into a slot die is applied to the web, only a portion of the fluid on the applicator of a roll coating system is actually deposited on the web. The remaining portion must be recirculated, resulting in contamination and waste.

Multi-layer pV structures include coatings and films Besides multiple coatings, each of which would require curing and thus could not be applied simultaneously with any of the others, a typical thin film solar system would include films produced from a variety of polymers. One possible structure, from sun-facing side to back side, might look like this: PET film with UV-block coating; EVA protective layer; PET bar-rier film; the multi-component PV core; a fluoropolymer or high-heat polyester spacer or insulator film; a reflective film; an aluminum foil layer; and an EVA back layer. A more elaborate structure currently in development has eight polymer films in addition to the metal foil and the PV core

sandwich.Besides slot die systems, another key

product range at EDI is that of extrusion dies for film. EDI film dies are used in the solar, battery and LCD industries. Recent advances in die technology have increased the strength and consistency of films and enhanced their barrier properties, which are important for keeping solar structures moisture-resistant.

Though lower in PV efficiency than crystalline silicon used in rigid panels, the high-solids electrode slurry used in thin-film systems is less costly, and this economy, combined with the high speed and automation of roll-to-roll production, can bring down the cost of solar electricity generation. At the same time, the more extensive installations made possible by the thin film helps offset the losses in PV efficiency. Contractors would purchase the film in rolls and install it over a wide roofing area, increasing overall sun-gathering capacity and thus power generation. In short, thin-film PV systems promise to be the future of solar power generation—a future that slot die coating and advanced film production will help to make a reality.

Mark David Miller is the market development manager for Extrusion Dies

Industries, LLC (EDI). He joined EDI in 2006 as project and manufacturing engineer.

Previously he spent nine years with 3M Company, where his responsibilities included

R&D on applications involving slot and extrusion coating dies. Miller holds a Masters

degree in polymer science and engineering from Lehigh University and a Bachelors degree in chemical engineering from the University of

Wisconsin.

Figure 4. This schematic highlighting DuPont products for photovoltaic systems shows both conventional rigid-panel (crystalline silicon) and new flexible film solar systems. Thin film systems are complex, multi-layer products that require a wide range of films and coatings. (Photo: DuPont)


How Sanmina-SCI determined its alternative energies strategy

Outsourcing of electronics manufacturing is a well accepted and proven business model for OEMs seeking to improve their bottom line by reducing fixed costs and gaining supply chain efficiencies. OEMs in the computing, communications and consumer markets were among the earliest ones to outsource, while more recent adopters of this model include medical, industrial and large defense electronics firms. As a result, the EMS industry has grown at a consistent rate of 10-15% per year, now reaching over US$180 billion in annual revenues. This is almost the same size as the semiconductor market, although the profit margins in the two cases are vastly different. Nevertheless, there is plenty of room for EMS to grow since OEMs still in-source almost 70% of the available electronics assembly market (Table 1). Examples of high-volume products that are routinely outsourced include mobile phones, digital cameras, laptops, desktops, set-top boxes, modems, routers, switches and blood glucose meters. Electronics manufacturing services industry is a great example of globalization with supply chains, design teams, manufacturing plants, human resources and logistics services operating across all time zones and employing multilingual and multicultural teams across the globe. While the United States has lost countless manufacturing jobs and factories, the primary beneficiaries of this global outsourcing of hardware manufacturing have been Mexico and China and (to a lesser extent) countries such as Malaysia and Thailand in Asia and Hungary and Romania in Eastern Europe.

The robust double-digit growth in EMS over the past several years did experience a slow down for the better part of 2009 with OEMs cutting back as worldwide recessionary pressures took hold. Fortunately, a relatively new market segment, namely alternative energy (AE),

has emerged during the recession to create renewed expectations of growth for the EMS industry. AE broadly refers to energy sources like solar, wind and fuel cells as alternatives to the traditional fossil fuels such as coal, oil and gas. The segment is also referred to as “renewable energy” (RE) to denote energy from natural sources like hydroelectric, geothermal energy and biomass. “Clean tech” or “green tech” is another broad term used to refer to technologies that help reduce power consumption (LED lighting), or preserve the environment (thru lower carbon emissions), or improve energy conservation (smart grid and metering).

Growth in alternative energiesWhile global electricity generation over the next 20 years continues to be dominated by natural gas and coal, the contribution from renewable sources is projected to reach 15% share or an impressive 5 trillion kWh in 2030. (Figure 1).

In the United States, AE sources contributed only about 7% of the total energy consumption in 2008. Of this 7%, barely 1% came from solar and just 7% was from wind energy. The potential for growth is clearly enormous for both energy sources.

Electricity demand in China and India is projected to grow 70% by 2030, versus 15% growth rate for the advanced or OECD countries.

Wind energyThe generation of power through wind energy now exceeds 120GW worldwide, led by the U.S. and Germany, with Spain, China and India in the top five markets (Figure 3).

On-shore installations are the predominant ones so far, although plans for off-shore wind power are gaining favor in countries where land

The alternative energy (AE) market is being viewed by some as the next wave of growth for the electronics manufacturing services (EMS) industry. Several important questions must be addressed at length in order to assess the true potential of this emerging opportunity for EMS companies, such as the credibility of the predicted growth rates and timelines, which AE sectors EMS companies can focus on to capitalize on the growth potential, what are the engineering and manufacturing needs of the various AE technologies and how do these needs fit with the capabilities and experience base of traditional EMS providers with their heavy emphasis on electronic hardware manufacturing. This paper discusses Sanmina-SCI’s strategy assessment.

Sundar M. Kamath, Ph.D., Sanmina-SCI Corp., San Jose, CA, USA


Keywords: Sanmina-SCI, Alternative Energy, Market Strategy, Electronic Manufacturing Services, Mechanical Systems

Originally published in the Proceedings of the SMTA International Conference, San Diego, California, October 4 - 8, 2009



and population density make on-shore turbines impractical. For example, China’s eastern coastline has the potential to generate 750MW through wind power. The top OEMs in wind energy come from Denmark, Spain, Germany, U.S. and India (Figure 4).

A recent assessment by engineering firm Black and Veatch has put the US onshore wind energy potential at over 8000 GW

There are two configurations for wind turbines—either horizontal or vertical, depending on the axis of rotation (Figure 5). A typical 1.5MW wind turbine costs approximately $1 million, which breaks out as power electronics (18%), generator (10%) and the combined mechanical elements of rotor, nacelle, frame and gearbox at 52% of the total cost. Therefore, the cost budget is almost 2:1 in favor of mechanical content. Interestingly, a recent Department of Energy (DOE) study has shown that the power and control electronics were the number one cause of failures, with 40% of wind turbine repairs being attributable to electronics, 20% to hydraulics and sensors and less than 10% due to gearbox, generator and drive train.

Investments in wind power are projected to continue at a 40% CAGR over the next five years, with the U.S. market leading the way. Even at 18% power electronics content, this can be a sizeable opportunity for traditional EMS providers while those offering mechanical design and manufacturing services (in addition to EMS) will clearly have access to a much greater portion of the outsourced content.

Solar energyThe solar market is poised for unprecedented growth according to industry analysts (Figure 6), even more

so than wind energy due to solar energy’s minimal penetration (0.01%) in global electricity generation (Figure 2) and its access to all three markets—utility, enterprise and residential. Growth in solar installations is estimated to translate into $100 billion of solar energy revenues by

2009 2011 2013

ODM 92.3 108.3 144.7

EMS 182.4 219.6 290.1

OEM (In-Source) 560.4 702.3 801.1

Total Electronic Assy 835.1 1,030.2 1,235.9

ODM Penetration 11.1% 10.5% 11.7%

EMS Penetration 21.8% 21.4% 23.5%

In-Sourced TAM 67.1% 68.1% 64.8%

Total 100.0% 100.0% 100.0%

Table 1. Worldwide electronics assembly in $B.(Source: Electronics Trend Publication, 2009, Sixth Edition)

Figure 1. WW electricity generation by fuel type. (Source: Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2006.)

Figure 2. U.S. energy consumption in 2008. (Source: Energy Information Administration (EIA) Renewable Energy Consumption and Electricity Preliminary Statistics 2008)

Figure 3. World wind power generation. (Source: The Economist from Global Wind Energy Council)

Figure 4. Major OEM players in wind energy. (Source: World Energy Report 2007)

Figure 5. Wind turbine configurations & components.



2013 from the current $30 billion level. However, a combination of factors may dampen the growth somewhat, including a demand drop due to the recession, Spain’s cutback in subsidies and a general tightening in the financing of mega power projects. Fortunately, the market has shown signs of revival as 2009 ended, and 2010 is expected to be a year of renewed growth driven by utility power projects (over 3GW already announced) and new federal subsidy or investment programs in China, Japan, Canada (Ontario), India and Greece.

In relative terms, the potential opportunities for EMS companies to support solar energy suppliers are more

near-term and much larger in scope than for wind energy. Other then the photovoltaic (PV) cell, which some OEMs may wish to produce in-house for proprietary and competitive reasons, virtually the entire remaining system is open to outsourcing.

The so-called balance of plant (BOP) or balance of system (BOS) encompasses

everything other than the PV cell and its packaging into the module or panel. BOP can include mounting and installation systems (e.g., pedestals, rails, fixtures, clamps, brackets, frames, torque tubes, cables), tracking systems and drive heads, electronic subsystems for control, power conversion, monitoring and optimization (e.g., controllers, combiners, inverters). The BOP represents a diverse set of outsourcing projects that require electrical and mechanical manufacturing competencies.

Most EMS companies will rightly view inverters as the best-fit turnkey product for outsourcing. Inverters can represent 10% or so of the installed cost and, within the inverter, almost 40% of the cost is tied to magnetics (coils and windings), which can be quite labor-intensive and a target for lower-cost regions. Another 15% of the cost is metal enclosures, and the remaining 45% is taken up by electronics assembly and test. The reliability performance of these (3-phase) inverters used in large utility installations is critical when the owner expects 20-year life warranties for the entire system. The inverter business is led by SMA of Germany with roughly 35% market share, followed by Ingeteam (Spain), Fronius (Germany), Satcon (Canada) and the former Xantrex (Canada), now owned by Schneider.

Under the broad solar energy category, there are a myriad of technologies with widely different energy conversion efficiencies, manufacturing capex and operating cost models. For example, just in the PV space alone, the efficiency ranges from 6-9% at the low end for thin film amorphous silicon to 15 to 20% for mono and poly crystalline silicon used on rooftops. CdTe (cadmium telluride) and CIGS (copper indium gallium diselenide)

or CIS (copper indium diselenide) solutions fall closer to 10-12% efficiency.

Conversion efficiencies of 35-45% can be obtained in concentrated PV by using reflectors or Fresnel lens optics to concentrate the sun’s rays onto multi-junction cells, leading to gains of over 100X in intensity. An essential element in concentrated photovoltaic (CPV) installations is the use of dual-axis tracking systems, which compensate for the earth’s rotation and ensure optimum solar incidence on the CPV cells. .

Crystalline PV dominates the rooftop market while thin film and concentrated solar PV are best suited for the utility type large solar farms. Thin film is projected to grow fastest, potentially reaching a dominant position in the next five years, followed by CdTe and CIGS (Figure 7).

Capacity expansion in China has driven polycrystalline silicon wafer pricing down over threefold from $160/kg or so in 2008, leading to cheaper rooftop solar panels. The holy grail of all AE technologies is achieving grid parity, which can also be translated to a total installed cost target of approximately $2.50/watt. This can be broken down to targets for the module cost ($1/watt) and other system elements. CdTe module pricing is already well below the $1/watt target, whereas thin film is expected to reach parity by 2012. Taking the example of a large format thin film PV system today, the cost breakout is roughly $2/watt for the module and $1.50 for the BOP including installation. Cost reduction is therefore a high-priority goal for both the module and BOP (Figure 8). The large variety of thin film solutions in the market and the virtually total absence of standardization make cost reduction a real challenge for the industry.

One of the lowest-cost solutions for large power plants is solar thermal energy. Glass or aluminum mirrors are used to concentrate solar energy to convert water into steam, which then drives turbines to generate electricity the “old-fashioned” way. A drawback with older solar thermal technologies was the need for excessive land acreage (approx 5acres/MW and deserts are ideal) and large amounts of reliable water supply to transfer the energy. Recent innovations like the power tower concept from Brightsource and others will help address these issues.

Both CPV and solar thermal systems contain fairly high metal and mechanical assembly content for outsourcing due to the need for dual-axis tracking, concentrators, or reflectors/collectors, etc.

Figure 6. Five-year growth for solar market worldwide. (Source: Lazard estimates)

Figure 7. Growth of thin film vs. crystalline silicon PV.

Figure 8. PV system cost reduction roadmap.



Capital equipmentAdditional outsourced manufacturing opportunity can be found in fabrication of the capital equipment used in PV manufacturing. The standard equipment may include physical and chemical deposition tools (similar to those used in semiconductor fabs), thin film process tools, ovens, furnaces, laminators, test, metrology and inspection tools. For example, companies like Oerlikon (Switzerland), Tokyo Electron (Japan) and Applied Materials (U.S.) offer turnkey thin film manufacturing lines; capex and actual production cost can vary significantly.

Energy storage—fuel cells, battery systemsMost AE technologies will require energy storage solutions in the form of rechargeable fuel cells or battery systems to maintain continuous, reliable power delivery through the 24-hour cycle, plus respond to the peak generation, demand and weather-related constraints. Energy storage can serve the needs of both stationary and mobile, or portable applications. A wide range of energy storage solutions are coming into the market based on improved Li-ion batteries, flow cells, natural gas, hydrogen, molten sodium and sulphur based fuel cells, with the economic goal set at $1000/kW.

The AE segment of storage is another attractive target for outsourced manufacturing, again with high electro-mechanical requirements such as metal and plastic enclosures, die castings, machining, mechanical assembly and test. The volumes can be medium to high, depending on the fuel cell application, ranging from portable devices to electric vehicles, to back-up power solutions for wireless base stations in remote rural areas of high-growth markets like India and Africa in the future.

Sanmina-ScI Mechanical Systems & Services DivisionUnlike most EMS companies, Sanmina-SCI began operations as a printed circuit board (PCB) fabrication company in San Jose, California, with Nortel as its first customer in 1980. By the mid-90s, the company had become the leading supplier of complex PCB and high-end backplane assemblies to major communications infrastructure and computing OEMs. A few years later, Sanmina-SCI defined the industry’s first vertically integrated manufacturing model, which enabled the design, manufacture, integration and testing of system solutions, primarily for infrastructure products.

As Table 2 illustrates, a series of technology capabilities were added over a 10-year period that established the foundation for Sanmina-SCI to emerge as one of the leaders in electro-mechanical design and manufacturing services. These electro-mechanical capabilities align well with the outsourcing needs of AE customers for a range of BOP applications in wind, solar, fuel cells, battery systems, etc.

Even before the AE market became reality, these capabilities were proven out in the design and build of capital equipment for the semiconductor industry. Examples include lithography tools, etch tools, wafer handling tools and interfaces, flat panel inspection tools, chem-mech planarization tools and similar complex, high precision fabrication equipment (Figure 10).

These tools were usually built in class 10K and 100K clean rooms using components from Sanmina-SCI’s internal supply chain wherever possible. The vertically integrated content in such

systems could range from 50-70% through a combination of machined components (Figure 11), frames, enclosures, cable harnesses, PCBAs, etc.

As part of the strategy to serve market segments that are mechatronic-intensive in requirements, Sanmina-SCI has consolidated all of the electro-mechanical design and manufacturing services into a new division known as Mechanical Systems & Services Division. These services and technology capabilities (listed below) match up with many of the needs of the AE market discussed in previous sections for the solar and wind energy sectors.

Sanmina-SCI capabilities to serve electro-mechanical needs of various AE customersComplex System Assembly Mechanical & Electrical Design Expertise DFM & Value Engineering Enclosures & Mechanical forming Soft & Hard Tooling Precision Machining & Assembly Die Castings & Plastics Cable Harnesses Electromechanical Integration/Test PCB, PCBA & Test Global Footprint (Low cost regions) Logistics & Repair Services

Final remarks on ae strategyUnlike most top-tier EMS companies, Sanmina-SCI has the required infrastruc

Figure 9. Examples of solar thermal & CPV systems.

PCB Fabrication 1980

Backplane Assembly 1982

PCB Assembly, Box Build 1994

Cable Harness & Termina-tions

1996

Enclosure Systems 1999

Mechanical & Electronic Design

2000

Precision Machining 2001

Die Castings, Plastics 2001

Complex System Assembly Clean Room (Semiconductor)

2003

Table 2. Evolution of electro-mechanical services at Sanmina-SCI.

Figure 10. Example of semiconductor lithography tool with Sanmina-SCI electro-mechanical content.

Figure 11. Precision machining of alloy plate for semiconductor fabrication tool.



ture and operating history in design and manufacturing of complex electro-mechan-ical systems and capital equipment used in industrial, semi-conductor, medical, defense and communications infrastruc-ture markets. These electro-mechanical capabilities fit well with the outsourcing needs of most AE technologies. As a result, Sanmina-SCI has been able to construc-tively engage, since 2007, with customers in various AE technologies, such as, wind, solar, fuel cells, battery systems, etc. This direct experience has obviously influenced the definition of current AE strategies within the company

Sound strategy definition depends on several factors coming together in a logical

and synchronous manner, supported by critical inputs that have been rigorously validated.

The key factors are: • a solid understanding of the

market and its dynamics, • identification of compatible growth

segments, • a capability-fit analysis with the

market’s outsourcing needs and, • synergy with the EMS company’s

core competencies and longer-term goals.

The cumulative synthesis of all these factors leads to the definition of strategy. As we know from past trends in new

technologies and markets (e.g., the optical boom at the start of this decade), no determination of strategy is fail-safe or permanent. Nor can anyone predict with assurance, how the AE market will evolve as the economy continues to emerge from recession. However, it is reasonable to presume that investments in renewable energy sources will continue given the current momentum and continued focus on achieving grid parity Finally, strategy definition is a dynamic process and Sanmina-SCI’s approach to the AE market will need constant review in order to react to any major shifts in the AE market and its customers needs.

Solar cells on ultra-thin crystalline silicon—continued from page 10

emitter was formed by deposition of thin double layers of undoped and P-doped a-Si using plasma enhanced vapor deposition (PECVD)at180˚C.Thetotalthicknessof this heterojunction emitter was around 15 nm. Defect passivation of the layers was performed by plasma hydrogenation inaPECVDsystemat400˚C.Homojunc-tion cells were hydrogenated after emitter formation, while heterojunction cells were hydrogenated before emitter formation.

To complete the cells, an antireflection coating (ARC) was deposited and metal contacts were formed. A SiNx

layer deposited by PECVD was used as ARC for the homo-junction cells, while a conductive indium tin oxide layer deposited by rf-sputtering was used for the hetero-junction cells. The contacts were formed by photolithography and wet chemical etch-ing in combination with metal evapora-tion. All cells have an aperture area of 1 cm2.

Figure 21 shows a schematic cross sec-tion of such a polycrys-talline Si thin film cell with a heterojunction emitter. The illumi-nated characteristic of such a 1 cm2 cell is shown in Figure 16. An efficiency of 8% is reached. This results

from the use of a heterojunction emitter, yielding an increase in open circuit voltage, and from the efficient plasma texturing, causing a lower reflectance and better light trapping. The average grain size in this cell was around 5 µm.

The efficiency of the cells is actually mainly limited by the large intragrain defect density of 109 cm-2. TEM studies reveal that most of the intragrain defects are already present in the AIC seed layers

and got reproduced into the absorber lay-ers during epitaxial growth. To reduce the intragrain defect density in our absorber layers, the AIC process needs to be opti-mized.

conclusionsSeveral avenues for cost reduction of crystalline Si based solar cells exist. A possible roadmap up to the year 2020, as seen by IMEC, includes several technology generations. Important developments are the i-PERC cell, the ultra-thin cell, the epitaxial cell and the thin crystalline Si cell deposited on ceramic or glass substrates.

references1. Y. Ma et al., 23rd EU PVSC (2008).2. P. Choulat et al., 23rd EU PVSC

(2008).3. G. Agostinelli et al., 21st EU PVSC

(2006).4. P. Choulat et al., 22nd EU PVSC

(2007).5. Y. Ma et al., 17th PVSEC (2007).6. F. Dross et al., 33rd IEEE Photovoltaic

Spec. Conf. (2008).7. L. Carnel et al., J. Appl. Phys. 100

(2006).8. T. Sato et al., Jpn. J. Appl. Phys., part I

39, 5033 (2000)9. V. Depauw et al., Mat. Science and

Eng. B 159-160, 286 (2009)10. F. Duerinckx et al., IEEE Electron

Device Letters, Vol. 27 (2006).11. J. Van Hoeymissen et al., 23rd EU

PVSC (2008).12. I. Gordon et al., 21st EU PVSC (2006).13. O. Nast et al., Applied Physics Letters

73 (1998).

Figure 22. AM1.5 illuminated IV curve of a 1 cm2 size heterojunction thin film crystalline Si cell on an alumina substrate.

~ 3 µm

i/n+ a-Si

emitter

ITO

Glass / Al2O3 substrate

Base contact

Emitter contact

AIC seed layer

p+ BSF

p-type Si

Figure 21. Schematic cross-section of a polycrystalline Si solar cell with hetero-junction emitter on an alumnia substrate (not in scale).



A focused manufacturing magazine and website to build your brand.

Protect your market share or gain a foothold by telling the

world in Global Solar Technology

Competition is increasing as more suppliers enter the industry every day.

Title


Interview—Eric Peeters, Dow Corning Solar Business

Interview

Dow Corning has had a high profile recently with many announcements about its solar business. We managed to track down Eric Peeters, vice president of Dow Corning Solar Business, in between business meetings somewhere in America this week, to get a few more details about Dow Corning’s initiatives.

You have a great deal of material available on your website, and one message comes across clearly—po-sitioning Dow Corning as the materials supplier to the solar industry.Dow Corning is one of the only companies in the world able to manufac-ture, research and develop silicon-based solutions throughout the entire photovoltaic value chain, from basic building blocks of silicon feedstock used to make ingots and wafers to solar module frame assembly and sealing mate-rials. Dow Corning has no plans to forward integrate. We recognize that silicon has a unique fit in solar systems because of its long term UV stability, both as a cell material and silicones for module as-sembly and balance of sys-tems. Our goal is to help make solar power a viable, sustainable energy option globally. We do that by offering cost-effective, du-rable, widely available and high performance material and material processing solutions.

Hemlock Semiconductor is a leading supplier of silicon. Lux Research’s re-cent webcast highlighted the building overcapacity in silicon—maybe as high as 30%. How will Hem-lock distinguish itself to customers?As one of the largest polysilicon supplier, Hem-lock’s economies of scale and synergies with Dow Corning would be tough to match. Our invest-ments in technology and innovation will reduce costs while keeping quality high. We will also help PV producers continue to be successful by ensuring that our products meet their needs exactly.

How about thin film sili-con? A lot of new capacity going in, especially in Japan.Yes. We are expanding monosilane capacity in Hemlock, Michigan, for both thin film silicon and AR coatings.

How can your products lower costs for the EMS and other companies entering module produc-tion?Our liquid based materi-


Interview

als, such as sealants, are very amenable to automation and are really scalable.

How do you deal with the fact that everybody’s process is slightly—or not so slightly—different?We use a collaborative approach with both our customers and equipment suppliers. Whether it is a turnkey or automation pro-cess, the collaborative approach is essential. We have a network of application centers around the world.

That takes us nicely to your Solar Applica-tion Centers—tell us about them.Dow Corning is expanding its solar business all over the world. Last year, we opened our first Solar Application Center in Freeland, Michigan, and in March we announced the location of our second center in Jincheon, Korea. In November, we announced the opening of our Dow Corning Solar Solutions and Business Center in Newark, California. We also have plans to expand into other areas of

Asia and Europe. These R&D facilities are equipped with state-of-the-art mate-rial development and characterization laboratories and environmental aging and testing capabilities with some site housing industrial-scale pilot lines for photovoltaic module assembly. Dow Corning scientists and application engineers work with our customers to ensure that our products and their processes perform optimally.

So your approach is essential in selling to an industry that has to offer 25 year warranties?Relying on 65 years of experience, the combination of the known long-term performance of the silicone products, the technical support infrastructure and the capacity to grow with the market will be key to our success.

Finally you are headquartered in Michi-gan, which like Germany is highly depen-dent on the auto industry. Some reports say that “green collar” jobs are second

only to auto industry jobs in Germany. What is Michigan doing to emulate that re-engineering?Policymakers in Michigan view renewable energy as a tremendous opportunity for economic growth. The state has created incentives in the form of grants, tax breaks, training and education, to attract renew-able energy manufacturers. We are also leveraging local academic institutions to help promote workforce development initiatives. For example, Hemlock has partnered with Delta College to offer a training curriculum for new employees. Finally, we have our own critical mass of companies—Hemlock Semiconductor Group in polysilicon, Dow Corning in silicones and monosilane and our parent company, The Dow Chemical Company in end-user applications such as photovoltaic roof shingles—all of which are helping to create jobs locally.

Thank you, Eric.—Alan Rae

We know GE from their strong involvement in the wind power arena and growing involvement in photovoltaics, so we were really interested in a recent press release on the technology crossover of their invertors from the wind to the so-lar market. We talked to Minesh Shah, renewable systems platform leader, about this development.

Tell us about GE and solar?We’ve been commercially active in the solar industry since 2004, and have been working on the research and development of solar products for several decades. GE has recently developed a 600 kilowatt (kW) solar inverter, which fits in with our power electronics expertise, spanning over a century. The design of the solar inverter is based on the converter in our 1.5 megawatt (MW) wind turbines. We now have over 12,000 wind turbines with the associated conversion equipment online. We felt we could leverage that expertise.

Why inverters for solar?Historically they have been the weak link in a solar power plant relative to reliability. Our wind turbines are known for their availability and reliability, with more than 185 mil-lion operating hours to date, proving that power electronics can perform for decades.

In addition to reliability, it is essential that wind and solar power plants be “grid friendly”—not disrupting the grid or being disrupted by grid variations. Our hardware and software “understands” the behavior of both the solar plant and the grid. For example, a voltage disturbance on the grid can cause inverters to “trip” off-line. Our software and hardware can help the inverters of the solar power plant to “ride through” such disturbance, allowing the plant to be a “good citizen” to the grid.

Your first inverter launched is a 600 kW model?Yes. At this rating, we can bring a cost-effective building block to the utility scale solar segment. Our plans are to continue to invest in the platform and grow the capability.

So it’s all about reliability?Yes, at utility scale levels, reliability of the inverter is essential. GE is uniquely suited to provide that reliability with technology proven in many wind farms over many years.

Thank you, Minesh.—Alan Rae

A brief talk with GE’s Minesh Shah

GE Renewable Energy global headquarters in Schenectady, NY. (Source: GE)


Thin-film solar cells are rapidly taking market share away from the established crystalline technology, with their portion of photovoltaic (PV) wattage more than doubling by 2013, according to iSuppli Corp. Thin-film will grow to account for 31 percent of the global solar panel market in terms of watts by 2013, up from 14 percent in 2008.

“The market viability of thin-film has been solidly established by First Solar Inc. as it rockets to become the world’s top solar panel maker this year, with more than a gigawatt of production,” said Greg Sheppard, chief research officer for iSuppli. “At the same time, the company has driven its cost of production to less than 90 cents per watt, keeping its costs at approximately half the level of crystalline module producers.”

Crystal vs. thin filmMost solar panels are made of crystalline wafers with 180 to 230 microns of polysilicon. In contrast, thin-film panels are made by depositing multiple layers of other materials a few micrometers in thickness on a substrate. The main tradeoff between the two technologies is efficiency versus cost per watt of electricity generation. Thin-film panels are less efficient at converting sunlight to electricity, but they also cost significantly less to make. At the same

time thin-film is at a disadvantage when installation space is limited, such as on a residential rooftop. A thin-film installation can take 15 percent to 40 percent more space to achieve the same total system wattage output as crystalline. This tends to limit its appeal in certain applications.

Price comparisonThe average thin-film solar panel price is expected to decline to $1.40 in 2010, down 17.6 percent from $1.70 in 2009. Average prices for crystalline panels are expected to drop to $2.00 in 2010, down 20 percent from $2.50 this year. Through 2012, crystalline prices will continue to close the thin-film pricing gap to some degree because its purveyors collectively have deeper pockets and keep pouring on capital spending, technology R&D developments and manufacturing refinements, iSuppli expects.

The many technologies of thin-filmMany types of thin-film PV technologies

are available. Their efficiencies in converting light to electricity mostly hover at less than 10 percent, although some have lab results pushing into the mid-teens. Some of these technologies are what is known as single-junction, where one diode is used. Recent developments use multiple junctions stacked on top of one another—also called tandem and triple junction—so that more parts of the spectrum can be absorbed using different combinations, or junctions, of material. Most of these technologies rely on variants of Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD), or screen printing, to deposit the layers of materials on various substrates, i.e., glass and various plastics. Some recent technologies employ variants of ink-jet printing to more quickly deposit the materials. Another accelerator of thin-film technology is the rising availability of turn-key production lines from companies such as Applied Materials, Oerlikon, and Centrotherm.

For more, see iSuppli’s report, Thin-Film PV Thriving in an Era of Cheap.

Anayst buzz

Analyst buzz

New NanoMarkets report on thin-film photovoltaics materials sees $13 billion opportunity in 2017After the shakeout of the thin-film photovoltaics (TFPV) industry this year, NanoMarkets LC, an industry-analysis firm based in Virginia, sees a resumption of growth occurring in 2010, creating opportunities for materials firms of all

kinds. According to NanoMarkets’ just-

published report on TFPV materials, consumption of these materials is now expected to rise to US$13.1 billion by 2017.

Key points:

• CIGS and CdTe have always been sensitive to the atmosphere, especially

when used in flexible cells. However, new kinds of encapsulation materials are now opening up the market for CIGS and CdTe in flexible BIPV applications.

• The biggest news here has been the announcements during 2009 of suitable polymer/ceramic dyad films from Dow Chemical, FujiFilm, DuPont

Thin-film technology’s share of solar panel market to double by 2013

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013

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Crystalline %

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Source: iSuppli


and 3M. • By 2017, sales of TFPV encapsulation

materials are expected to reach $1.6 billion.

• The TFPV industry is rapidly moving away from the use of ITO as a transparent conductor. The big beneficiaries in this move will be zinc oxide and tin oxide, the use of which is expected to bring major cost savings for the industry. By 2017, almost 90 percent of the transparent conductor material used by the TFPV industry is expected to be zinc oxide or tin oxide.

• Sputtering is in decline for TFPV manufacturing, primarily because of the material wastage. Printing is on the increase, but the true unsung hero of TFPV manufacturing is electrodeposition which is rapidly growing and proving itself worthy of widespread use. By 2017, TFPV absorber materials that are either printed or electrodeposited will amount to almost $300 million.

The full report, “Materials Markets for Thin-Film Photovoltaics: 2010 to 2017,” provides a complete analysis of the commercial opportunities for materials used in thin-film PV. The coverage comprises the absorber layer, electrode, substrate, encapsulation, and other materials used for CIGS, CdTe, and thin-film silicon PV. The report includes detailed eight-year forecasts of thin-film materials broken out by applications and chemistry, as well as reviews of the latest research and the corporate strategies of firms active in the sector. It also discusses the activities of dozens of firms, including 3M, 5N Plus, ACI Alloys, Air Liquide,

All-Chemie, American Elements, BOC, Cambrios, Cerac, Cima Nanotech, Corning, Creative Materials, Dow Chemical, Dow Corning, DuPont, Evonik, First Solar, FujiFilm, Global Solar, Indium Corporation, Linde, Mitsubishi, Nanoco, NSG, Praxair, REC, Redlen Technologies, Saint-Gobain, Sanyo, Schott, Sputtering Materials, Super Conductor Materials, Taiyo Nippon Sanso, Tianwei Baoding, Tico Titanium, ULVAC, Umicore, Vitex, and Voltaix.

uK peak energy demand could outstrip supply capabilities by 2017, says new Douglas-Westwood researchThe UK’s peak electricity demand could exceed available capacity by as early as 2017, due to the planned closure of nuclear and coal power stations—and a potential short-term gap in replacement power generation solutions. In addition, gas power stations running on imported fuel offer the only realistic short-term method of bridging this impending power capacity gap—until a new generation of wind farms, nuclear plants & clean coal power stations are brought online. These are key findings from ‘The UK Power Generation Expenditure Forecast 2010-2030,’ which was launched recently by energy business analysts Douglas-Westwood.

With in-depth forecasts through to 2030, the report offers the only currently available long-term detailed view of UK power generation expenditure—covering coal, gas, nuclear, offshore and onshore wind, wave & tidal, hydro, biomass, and solar photovoltaics sectors. It, therefore, provides essential information for decision-makers within the UK power generation

sector and as well as those working in contracting and supply industries, government departments and financial institutions.

‘The UK Power Generation Expenditure Forecast 2010-2030,’ also includes forecasts for the required capital expenditure (capex) to bring this capacity online. In each case, three scenarios are presented based on a range of assumptions – base case, high case, and low case. The resultant capex for each sector is further segmented into major items of plant ranging from turbines to instrumentation & control systems.

The independent report highlights that current UK power generation capacity is approximately 85 GW, but that taking into account the potential for increasing demand, and intermittency of renewable sources such as wind, it will need to grow to 112 GW by 2030. This means that the equivalent of 95% of existing UK capacity will need to be built over the next 20 years—corresponding to a required capital investment that could be as high as £162 billion over the same period.

“The rising amounts of required energy capacity will place considerable pressure on the UK economy, the entire energy supply chain and it is the consumer who will ultimately have to pay the price of indecision,” concludes Douglas-Westwood chairman John Westwood. “Considering successive governments have had 30 years notice of the present serious decline of UK oil & gas supplies and full knowledge of generation plant lifetimes there is no excuse for allowing the development of the pending problem. A balance will need to be struck quickly between energy security, the intermittent nature of renewable energy generation, climate change mitigation targets and potentially volatile public opinion.”

“The UK Power Generation Expenditure Forecast 2010-2030” is the latest in the acclaimed series of Douglas-Westwood energy business studies. The firm carries out commercial due diligence work for the financial community and business research, market analysis and strategy work for the international energy industry. Douglas-Westwood has clients in over 60 countries and to date over 600 projects have been completed. Clients range from the energy majors and contractors to equipment manufacturers and financial institutions to presidential offices and departments of governments.

Analyst buzz

Source: Konarka


Sitting down withLux Research’s Ted Sullivan

Sitting down with Lux Research’s Ted Sullivan

We recently attended a Lux web briefing on the Lux Solar Supply Tracker, a newly developed tool that we felt would be a useful resource for our readers. It’s a regularly updated database of capacities and utilization throughout the photovoltaic supply chain that users can analyze to identify business opportunities.

We talked to Ted Sullivan, senior analyst at Lux Research, to understand more about this tool and get his input on market trends.

Tell us how you developed the Solar Supply Tracker?We have been tracking capacity announcements and other data for three years. We’d been publishing in “state of the market” reports and felt it would be useful to clients in a real-time Excel format.

How do you gather and verify the dataA; From both primary and secondary sources. We have about 400 primary conversations per year to test the pulse of the market. We cover all types of technologies and cross-check the data especially from second-tier suppliers and new technology types. First tier suppliers usually report publically.

China is a very fertile area...how do you cover that?Through regular visits and phone calls directly and through our research

relationships in China.

Your analysis shows very explicitly the overcapacity in silicon—and the fact that it continues as far as 2013. Are you predicting a prolonged shakeout in silicon producers?You can see how much Si capacity has been overbuilt. Some companies with serious

backing, such as Silicon de Provence, are not going ahead with production. Other companies, such as LDK, are spinning off their solar operations. Many of these may close their doors and remove the excess capacity, but it will take time.

How about module costs prices and profitability?

Company capacity—silicon.

Capacity comparison throughout the value chain.


New Products

Prices will drop as government subsidies drop. There have been misquoted reports of selling below variable costs. In fact this is to be expected given the volatility of the market and there are ways to legitimately handle the financial aspects of this such as inventory write-downs. It appears that Tier 1 suppliers are profitable but many Tier 2 suppliers are struggling,

How about the shift of Chinese production to the US, directly or through EMS companies?Transport costs but more importantly time is a real issue. Panels are large and fragile and in the month it takes to ship from China to the US or Europe the prices may have moved significantly. It makes sense to move production closer to the market especially as automated plants, with appropriate tax and other incentives, can be economic in any part of the world.

Germany had a great 3Q that buoyed the market...what about the next few months?Installers are rushing to beat the January feed-in tariff reductions and we expect that the demand will stay strong in thee first half of 2010 as the German government may announce a second tariff reduction in July. The severity of the German winter may affect the rate of installation but overall the demand should be steady—but prices will continue to erode.

For more details on the Lux Research Tracker visit www.luxresearchinc.com.

Sitting down with Lux Research’s Ted Sullivan

Capacity utilization by company.

joint World Conference of:


Company profile: Oerlikon Solar


Oerlikon Solar is one of six business segments of OC Oerlikon Corporation AG, one of the world’s leading high-tech industrial groups specializing in machine and plant engineering. OC Oerlikon is a provider of innovative industrial solutions and cutting-edge technologies for textile manufacturing, thin film coating, drive, precision, vacuum and solar systems. A Swiss company with a tradition going back 100 years, Oerlikon is a global player with around 16,000 employees at 180 locations in 37 countries and sales of CHF 4.8 billion in 2008. The company ranks either first or second in its respective global markets.

Oerlikon Solar was established as a new product line in 2003 and became an independent business unit in 2007. Oerlikon Solar brings together the corporations’ extensive and wide-ranging solar competencies and technologies for solar production equipment. Today, the Oerlikon Solar segment provides fully automated end-to-end production lines for manufacturing thin film silicon solar PV modules.

Oerlikon Solar is headquartered in Trubbach, Switzerland, with an R&D lab in Neuchâtel, Switzerland and a pilot line in Trübbach that provides a key strategic asset for the company’s R&D capabilities. Oerlikon Solar has grown to more than 750 employees worldwide. Global customer support and training are provided through

sales and service centers in Europe, Asia-Pacific and the United States. Revenues for FY08 were reported at CHF 628 m and the Q1-Q3 2009 revenues were reported at CHF 432 m. Oerlikon Solar customers have manufactured more than 1 million panels to date and Oerlikon has 350 living patents. The company has more than 200 global customer support personnel at 13 locations in nine countries.

The company has successfully demonstrated its ability to mass produce

equipment for thin film silicon PV panels production by having delivered and ramped up over 450MW of capacity to customers as of January 2010 advantage and was the first company to deliver equipment on which a-Si thin film PV were produced at industrial scale.

The company today boasts a market share of 45%, competing primarily with Applied Materials. Whereas Oerlikon Solar originally developed only the core element of the front-end production line, the PECVD chamber (plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition) called “KAI”, the company today supplies full end-to-end solutions, enabling automated mass production of 1.4m2 thin film silicon PV panels.

Oerlikon Solar tops the VSLI list as the “global number one solar turnkey line supplier”. Oerlikon Solar maintained a comfortable lead in 2008 among solar turnkey manufacturing line

providers in rankings released by VLSI Research, a leading provider of market research and economic analysis on the technical, business, and economic aspects within nanotechnology and related industries.

The company has a rapidly expanding global customer base. Recent sales to customers include Sun Well Solar and Auria Solar Co. Ltd. (Taiwan), Tianwei and Chint Solar (Mainland China), Inventux,

Company profile: Oerlikon SolarThin film turnkey specialists

This is the first of a series of company profiles at Global Solar Technology where we look at the major players in the industry and what makes them unique.


Company profile: Oerlikon Solar

ersol Thin Film GmbH, SCHOTT Solar AG (Germany), Pramac Suisse (Switzerland), Gadir Solar (Spain) and HelioSphera (Greece) and Hevell LLC (Russia).

Besides a well established global footprint, Oerlikon Solar has significant partnerships with leading industrial companies such as Tokyo Electron (sales and customer service) and Flextronics (equipment manufacturing) to guarantee comprehensive customer service and support and rapid scalability throughout different geographies.

Thin film solar and oerlikon’s unique abilitiesLow-cost thin film solar modules pres-ent significant growth opportunities in the solar PV market. According to the Prometheus Institute in its September 2008 report, “Thin film PV 2.0: Market Outlook Through 2012,” thin film could make up over 40 percent of worldwide PV production approaching 10 GW of capac-ity. These developments mark a major step toward achieving “grid parity” with conventional electricity supplies.

The company provides the industry’s most complete line of equipment, technology and services enabling automated mass production of large-area, thin film silicon solar modules. Its high-performance production lines for manufacturing cost-effective solar modules feature an innovative Micromorph® tandem technology, invented by Oerlikon Solar’s Dr. Johannes Meier, that combines two different silicon materials—amorphous and microcrystalline. This proprietary combination boosts energy conversion efficiency levels up to 50 percent higher than traditional amorphous single junction cells.

Invented by Oerlikon Solar’s Dr. Johannes Meier, the company’s proprietary Micromorph® module technology, which was introduced in the fall of 2007, combines two different silicon materials—amorphous silicon and microcrystalline silicon - in a top and a bottom cell. The amorphous top cell converts the visible part of the sun’s spectrum, while the microcrystalline bottom cell absorbs the sun’s power in the near infrared spectrum. Consequently, the new Micromorph® technology boosts the efficiency level up

to 50 percent higher than traditional amorphous single cells. This process not only reduces energy production costs, it also has the potential for reaching conversion efficiencies of more than 10 percent.

In conclusion Oerlikon Solar has a really impressive track record in solar equipment and factories in terms of the speed with which customers ramp up and start production It also has the most customers in production to date. The company has delivered on or before schedule and has met guaranteed performance levels for every project. Customers can go from move in to production in eight months or less with Oerlikon Solar, so they can quickly ramp up and start selling products to meet the demand for thin film solar panels.

For more details see www.oerlikon.com/solar/ where you can also see an online counter of panels manufactured by Oerlikon to date—on January 26, this number stood at over 1.17 million.


Industry NewsNew Products

New productsapplied Materials releases the industry’s most advanced, productive cMp platform: reflexion GTApplied Materials, Inc. raised CMP* technology to a new level while lowering system cost of ownership (CoO) with the launch of its Applied Reflexion® GT system for advanced metal CMP applications.

The system’s novel, dual-wafer design sets new benchmarks in CMP performance and productivity, delivering superior profile control and 60% higher throughput than competing systems. The Reflexion GT also dramatically cuts consumables cost, requiring up to 30% less slurry and processing twice as many wafers per polishing pad.

“Today’s copper-based logic and memory devices have more copper interconnect layers, requiring faster CMP processing and more efficient use of consumables,” said Lakshmanan Karuppiah, general manager of Applied’s CMP business unit. “Like Applied’s highly-successful Producer® GT™ CVD* platform, the Reflexion GT system is another dream machine for customers—combining innovations in CMP technology with dual-wafer processing to achieve best-of-breed performance. In addition to its high speed throughput, this new architecture allows customers to realize substantial savings in the cost of consumables, which typically comprises 70% of the total cost per wafer.”

The Reflexion GT system is available now for copper interconnect planarization and has demonstrated extendibility to tungsten applications. www.appliedmaterials.com

*CMP = chemical mechanical planarization; CVD = chemical vapor deposition.

Screens with high tension meshMicroScreen announces the manufacture of screens with new HT stainless steel mesh. Produced from specially developed wires and woven on state-of-the-art looms, the HT mesh is a high-tension mesh capable of achieving tension values much higher than traditional meshes. The higher tension on the screen allows the use of a lower off-contact and less squeegee pressure. Less off contact and quicker snap off of the ink behind the squeegee improves print quality and contributed to increased cell efficiency. Screens fabricated with HT mesh

show improvements in the separation of the ink from the mesh. Ink clears the mesh opening much easier producing better print consistency and image quality, particularly on fine lines. MicroScreen is a manufacturer of screens for solar cells, membrane switch, large format and thick film printing, as well as laser cut and electroformed stencils. www.microscreen.org

line mountable XrF yield Management tool for atmospheric cIGS composition and thickness measurementSolar Metrology, expanded its SMX XRF tool portfolio for film composition and thickness measurement of CIGS photovoltaic depositions with the addition of the System SMX-Remote static head ILH. Solar Metrology’s System SMX-ILH is atmospheric in-line x-ray fluorescence (XRF) metrology tool platform that provides composition and thickness measurements for thin film solar PV metal film stacks on flexible roll-to-roll substrates such as stainless steel, aluminum and polyimide or rigid substrates such as

float glass. SMX-ILH is designed to perform

measurements in an atmospheric environment, either near-line or in-line. Remote SMX-ILH tool platform models are designed to measure in either one static location or across the gradient (points on a linear line perpendicular to movement) of flexible or rigid glass substrates. Typical measurement applications include Mo thickness and all CIGS combinations (including all CIG alloys and/or film combinations and final CIGS formulations).

Integrating System SMX-ILH into your process is simple. The ILH platform includes both fully integrated, stand-alone tools and remote configurations that can be incorporated directly into your tool or line, providing you with the versatility and adaptability needed to match your requirements at each XRF measurement point in your process. SMX-ILH utilizes X-ray fluorescence, an enabling technology for CIGS manufacture, that delivers yield management and yield improvement by


New Products

allowing in-line process control. Solar Metrology’s SMX Measurement tool platform provides a production-ready suite of film thickness and composition measurement tools for research and process development, in-process monitoring and post-process quality control. www.solarmetrology.com

Krayden introduces solar cell conductive adhesives and inks to solar industryKrayden, Inc., a leading distributor of engineered materials, announces the premier of Engineered Conductive Materials’ (ECM) solar cell conductive adhesives and inks to the solar industry. These materials are proven to deliver more efficient, longer lasting solar power. ECM SolAg series silver inks and adhesives have repeatedly proven superior in damp heat and thermal cycle aging. The leading failure modes that limit a PV module’s operating life are electrochemical corrosion due to moisture and reduced contact integrity due to cyclic thermal stress. SolAg conductive inks and adhesives deliver the lowest and most stable electrical contact resistance for silver grid buss lines, ribbon attachment and metal wrap-through in CIGS, amorphous silicon and similar thin film platforms. www.conductives.com

oTB Solar and Trident join forces to bring cutting edge inkjet printing technologyOTB Solar and Trident Solar announced a partnership for bringing innovative, cost-saving inkjet technologies to the solar market. Trident’s proprietary 256Jet-S™ inkjet printhead will be integrated into OTB Solar’s PixDro™ open architecture inkjet platforms, including the LP50™ research and development tool and the Elements™ pilot or full production system. The innovative Trident inkjet printhead combined with OTB Solar’s specialty software allows the enhanced LP50 and Elements systems to provide the most cost-effective and precise deposition of jettable materials available for solar applications.

Trident’s inkjet printhead features stainless steel construction and a unique repairable design – that allows the nozzle plate to be disassembled, ultrasonically cleaned and reassembled. The inertness of the 256Jet-S printhead enables jetting of the more aggressive solar processing fluids such as phosphorous dopants and alkaline etchant. These features allow the 256Jet-S printhead to last up to 8 times longer than alternative inkjet printheads.

The unique open architecture of

OTB Solar´s product line allows for more cost-effective development and production of solar cell technologies. The open architecture provides customers with enhanced flexibility in the production of solar cell technologies with different manufacturing requirements and allows for a variety of printhead and laser applications to be integrated.

OTB Solar currently offers two inkjet printing solutions for the solar market. The LP50 is an advanced research and development tool used for trials in the development of inkjet materials, processes and applications. The Element is flexible inkjet printing system that allows for easy scaling from application development on a LP50 into a pilot scale or full production. The tool can handle product sizes of 5, 6 and 8 inches and has a throughput of up to 1500 wafers/hr. www.otb-solar.com, www.otb-solar.com

Mitsubishi plastics launch BacK-BarrIer to global marketMitsubishi Plastics, Inc. (MPI) launched its high gas barrier photovoltaic (PV) back sheet, BACK-BARRIER. BACK-BARRIER is MPI’s latest development in the X-BARRIER series of high gas barrier films, with the world’s highest level of water vapor barrier. Solar cell manufacturers to whom MPI have provided samples have already confirmed the product’s excellent performance.

BACK-BARRIER is based on four key concepts:

• High humidity barrier to ensure both consistent generating efficiency and mechanical strength

• Halogen-free

• Metal-free • Easy bonding to encapsulation material

like Ethylene-vinyl acetate (EVA).

As a result, the product avoids the lowering of electric generation efficiency and strength of the back sheet, thereby contributing to improved durability of solar cells with consideration to the environment. MPI offers two types of back sheets: one for crystalline silicon solar modules, requiring 0.2g/m2/day humidity barrier, and one for thin PV cells, requiring 0.02g/m2/day.

BACK-BARRIER is also being developed for use in dye sensitized and organic thin film solar cells with a much higher humidity barrier. www.mpi.co.jp

Solar-simulation products from agilent’s electronic Measurement GroupDevelopment of sophisticated green technologies requires advanced testing products, such as those from Agilent’s Electronic Measurement Group. Agilent solar-simulation products are used to design and manufacture solar arrays, fuel cells, inverters and other devices that enable companies to develop green technologies. Agilent solar-simulation products include:

• E4360 Series solar array simulators; • N3300-Series and 6060-Series eLoads

(electronic load testers); and • B1505 SMU power analyzers.

Next-generation green-energy products require innovative development techniques and thorough testing. Agilent offers test products that can be used to contribute to this successful and exciting renewable energy market.


Industry News

cyrium Technologies introduces QDec product line: high efficiency cpV solar cellsCyrium Technologies Inc. introduced its first commercial product line: QDEC (Quantum Dot Enhanced Cell), a line of high-efficiency concentrator photovoltaic (CPV) cells for land-based, commercial solar applications. With average efficiency levels of 40% at >500-1000 suns and a minimum efficiency offering of 38% on a standard 10mm x 10mm cell, Cyrium’s QDEC products are expected to outperform all commercially available CPV cells. Cyrium’s fabless business model allows the flexibility to offer QDEC devices in a range of cell sizes at a competitive cost. www.cyriumtechnologies.com

Gcl Solar completes DcS redistribution with Dynamic engineeringDynamic Engineering announced the successful start up of its Dichlorosilane (DCS) Redistribution Process at GCL Solar Technologies Holdings Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of GCL-Poly Energy Holdings Limited. The Redistribution Process was designed to process 10,000 mta of DCS and eliminates by-product through conversion of DCS to trichlorosilane (TCS) in DEI’s patent pending process. TCS is the silicon gas used in the production of polysilicon in a chemical vapor decomposition (CVD) reactor while DCS is a waste by-product that occurs during this process. The 10,000 MTA dedicated system is thought to be the largest of its kind. www.dynamicengineer.com, www.gcl-poly.com.hk

Solar energy Initiatives announces strategic photovoltaic collaboration with ITrI TaiwanSolar Energy Initiatives, Inc., and the Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) Taiwan announced a broad business and technical collaboration agreement to build, integrate, test and commercialize a series of new solar products and solutions. In collaboration with Solar Energy Initiatives, ITRI will integrate the technologies into world-class products in such solar solutions as LED lighting, silicon solar cell products, Si thin film solar cell, module encapsulation, dye-sensitized solar cell and printable CIGS. SNRY will be instrumental in the sales and distribution. www.SolarEnergy.com, www.itri.org.tw

ScI engineered Materials receives grant to commercialize products for solar industrySCI Engineered Materials, Inc., has been awarded $775,400 by the Ohio Department of Development’s Ohio Third Frontier Photovoltaic Program (OTFPVP) to commercialize advanced technology for high power density rotatable ceramic sputtering targets. These targets are used in the manufacture of thin film photovoltaic solar cells. The award is subject to State of Ohio Controlling Board approval. www.OhioThirdFrontier.com, www.sciengineeredmaterials.com

Seminole wins low cost funding for potential ‘Smart Grid’ solar projectThe U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has selected a ‘Smart Grid’ solar photovoltaic (PV) project being studied by Tampa-based Seminole Electric Cooperative for access to up to US$34 million in low cost project funding. On October 27, 2009, the IRS awarded Seminole the right to issue up to $34 million in new Clean Renewable Energy Bonds (CREBs) to finance a potential 1-5 megawatt (MW) solar energy project. Seminole is evaluating its natural gas-fueled Midulla Generating Station, in southwest Florida, as a site for the facility, which would consist of an array of solar photovoltaic (PV) panels and associated energy storage capabilities. Seminole, the wholesale power supplier to 10 Florida distribution cooperatives, currently meets about 4% of its member systems’ energy needs with renewable energy. www.seminole-electric.com.

DayStar Technologies appoints Jonathan Fitzgerald to board of directorsDayStar Technologies, Inc., announced that its board of directors has appointed Mr. Jonathan Fitzgerald as an independent director of the board of directors of the company. Mr. Fitzgerald is an independent investment banker providing advisory services to early and growth-stage businesses in a variety of technology industries. Previously, Mr. Fitzgerald was a managing director and senior investment banker with the firm of Morgan Joseph & Co. Inc. www.daystartech.com

First Solar and ordos take key step forward in 2GW china projectFirst Solar, Inc. announced a cooperation framework agreement with the Chinese government that takes another critical

step towards the realization of the world’s largest solar power plant in the autonomous region of Inner Mongolia, China. First Solar president Bruce Sohn and Mayor Yun Guangzhong of the Ordos City Government signed the cooperation framework agreement in the presence of Chinese Vice Premier Li Keqiang, Vice Minister Liu Qi of the National Energy Administration, and U.S. Secretary of Energy Steven Chu. The Agreement between First Solar and Ordos spells out additional project details and local support that advance the development of the 2 gigawatt (GW) solar power plant and confirm the June 1, 2010 expected construction start date for the 30 megawatt (MW) Phase 1. www.firstsolar.com

MiaSolé announces commercial shipments to multiple customersMiaSolé has started shipping its CIGS thin-film modules from its California production facility. “We have now shipped modules to 30 customer sites in Germany, Italy, Spain, France, Portugal and various locations in the United States; we now have commercial projects in the ground, under development and on the drawing board,” said Dr. Joseph Laia, chief executive officer. “With complete UL/IEC certification and long-standing customer partnerships, we are now ramping our factory output and production capacity for 2010. We are confident our cost structure and manufacturing efficiencies will enable us to compete effectively in the large and growing solar energy market.” www.miasole.com

Mitsubishi electric 3MW solar panels to power Italy’s coop logistic centerMitsubishi Electric Corporation completed a 2,906-kilowatt (kW) photovoltaic (PV) installation for Coop’s new CNNA-Prato logistic center in Prato, Italy. Of the 15,710 lead-free solder PV modules used for the 2,906kW system, 15,650 modules (2,895kW) have been installed on the warehouse roof, covering a surface of 21,000 square meters, equivalent to 5 soccer fields. The system will reduce dependence on non-renewable energy, and is expected to generate 3.2 million kWh per year, which will not only completely meet the energy needs of the new logistic center, but will also generate an estimated amount of 500,000 kWh excess electricity that will be transferred to the national distribution network. global.mitsubishielectric.com.

Industry News— continued from page 5


Industry News

Expo Centre - Expo XXI, National Capital Region of Delhi

27-29 October 2010

Upscaling and Mainstreaming Renewables for Energy Security, Climate Change and Economic Development

Solar PV | Solar Thermal | Wind | Bio fuels | Bio mass | Hydro | Cogeneration | Geothermal | Energy Efficiency | EVs & HVs

Organiser

Government of India Ministry of New & Renewable Energy

Managed by

Rajneesh Khattar, Tel: +91 11 4279 5054 M: +91 98717 26762; [email protected]

Exhibitions India GroupIOS 9001:2008 & ISO 14001:2004

l 600 Exhibitors l 5,000 Conference delegates l 250 High profile

speakers l 20,000 Trade Visitors l 40 countries

Delhi International Renewable Energy Conference

www.direc2010.gov.in


Industry News

oTB Solar acquires remaining shares in its printing entitiesOTB Solar has acquired from minority shareholders all remaining shares in Pixdro Ltd and OTB Printing Technologies B.V. These subsidiaries of OTB Solar contain certain intellectual property rights that are relevant for the further development of OTB Solar’s product roadmap. OTB Solar is currently developing an innovative single pass selective emitter process utilizing the ELEMENTS ink jet printing deposition platform. www.otb-solar.com

oerlikon leybold Vacuum Scandinavia aB to be independentOerlikon Leybold Vacuum has sold its Oerlikon Leybold Vacuum Scandinavia business unit in Göteborg to the unit’s management. The managing director of Oerlikon Leybold Vacuum Scandinavia, Christer Bengtsson, explains that the name of the new company, Low2High Vacuum, says it all: “We will continue to serve our customers with everything from low to high vacuum, with the expertise and application know-how we have acquired over almost five decades in the Scandinavian vacuum technology markets. We benefit from a very good market position, and are going to expand and leverage the traditional business in both existing and new attractive markets.” www.oerlikon.com

cNpV signs long-term strategic partnership with STaND-By europe, a czech companyCNPV Dongying Photovoltaic Power Company Limited (CNPV) has entered into a long-term strategic partnership sales agreement with STAND-BY Europe. Under the terms of this strategic agreement, CNPV will supply STAND-BY Europe with a total of 100MWp of PV Modules from 2009 to 2012, which includes 5MWp of scheduled delivery during Q42009 at fixed prices. The remaining 25MWp, 30MWp and 40MWp are scheduled for delivery in 2010, 2011 and 2012 respectively. However the price will be reviewed mutually on a quarterly basis if the market price falls or rises with reference to the fixed prices. www.cnpv-power.com, www.standby-europe.com

Suntech’s ceo Dr. Zhengrong Shi elected to aTSe FellowshipSuntech Power Holdings Co., Ltd., announced that its chairman and chief executive officer, Dr. Zhengrong Shi, has been elected to the fellowship of the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering (ATSE) for

his outstanding achievement in research and management in the large-scale commercialization of photovoltaic technology. ATSE is an association of professional men and women who are elected as Fellows of the Academy on the basis of their achievement in the application of science, technology and engineering to Australian life. www.atse.org.au, www.suntech-power.com

atlumin establishes solar materials manufacturing in Sunnyvale, californiaAtlumin Energy Inc opened a state-of the art manufacturing in Sunnyvale, California, to support renewable energy manufacturers, initially solar module manufacturers. Atlumin shipped their first product from this new facility in January 2010. These first articles are customer-specific rotary sputtering targets for solar module manufacture. Atlumin’s Sunnyvale, California facility will ultimately manufacture a full range of products for solar module manufacturers. Tellurium, selenium, indium, gallium, copper, and cadmium are the basis of most Atlumin product offerings. www.atlumin.com

Jiawei to supply 3.5MW solar panels to Golden Sun projectJiawei announced that their quality modules are chosen for China’s Golden Sun Project. The Chinese solar modules manufacturer would be supplying 3.5MW for two electrification projects in Wuhan including the Pak Chuen farm 2.5MW grid-connected photovoltaic power generation project and Sinosteel Tiancheng Environmental Protection Science and Technology Co., Ltd, science park 1MW grid connected photovoltaic power generation project. www.solarchina.com.hk

praxair china signs agreement with MaGI Solar energy Technology co.Praxair China has signed a multi-year agreement with MAGI Solar Energy Technology Co., Ltd. to supply bulk and process gases for its solar cell and module manufacturing facility, located in the Jiangsu Yixing Economic Development Zone, Jiangsu Province. MAGI uses advanced processing technology to manufacture high efficiency, high quality monocrystalline solar cells and modules. Praxair (China) Investment Co., Ltd is a leading industrial gas provider in China headquartered in Shanghai. www.praxair.cn

cIM Group closes purchase of Skypower corp. solar assetsCIM Group closed on its purchase of SkyPower Corp.’s assets. The new entity, named SkyPower Limited, includes a 50 percent stake in the 9.1 megawatt First Light energy park—the first operational utility-scale solar energy project in Canada—as well as a pipeline of 50 additional projects representing the potential for more than 500 megawatts of solar power generation nameplate capacity. www.cimgroup.com

centrosolar inaugurates photovoltaic system on its own factory roofCentrosolar Group AG has installed a photovoltaic system with a peak capacity of 300 KWp on the roof of the solar power plant Sonnenstromfabrik in Wismar. Covering an area of 11,000 square metres, 1,565 solar modules were installed on the warehouse/production hall. Following its extension in 2008, the solar power plant’s annual capacity of 150 MWp (as of 2010) makes it one of the largest and most modern factories in Germany. In assembling the solar energy system, the CENTROSOLAR Group availed itself of the products of its own subsidiaries: The modules adorning the roof of the production hall were manufactured in the very same hall. The crystalline quality modules are Centrosolar S-Class Ultra and S-Class Professional modules in the 180 to 240 Wp performance classes. The assembly systems were contributed by Renusol, another subsidiary, which supplied the Console fastening system that was easy and quick to install on the flat roof of the production hall. In terms of inverters, CENTROSOLAR chose its own Powerstocc brand. www.centrosolar.com

Suntech’s Quality lab certified for pV Module VDe Test Data acceptance programSuntech Power Holdings Co., Ltd., is the first solar company in Asia to be awarded the VDE Test Data Acceptance Program (TDAP) certificate in accordance with all the requirements of IEC 61215. Dr. Qiang Han, general manager of VDE Shanghai said, “We are impressed by Suntech’s comprehensive quality testing processes, a number of which exceed IEC certification requirements. Suntech is setting a fantastic example of how to ensure consistent, high quality production.” As part of the program, VDE will regularly send experienced personnel to witness the implementation of key quality tests and


New Products


Industry News

procedures at Suntech. Participation in the TDAP is expected to accelerate Suntech’s ongoing IEC certification process from approximately seven months to four months, enabling Suntech to bring the latest solar products to market faster. www.suntech-power.com

Suniva solar cell technology powers India’s first large-scale solar projectSuniva®, Inc., completed its collaborative project with Titan Energy Systems Ltd. to create India’s first large-scale project in Jamuria, West Bengal. Suniva’s cells power the 1MW solar electric power plant, which is expected to expand an additional 250kW early next year.

Solyndra signs framework agreement with Italy’s Sun System for approximately $105 millionSolyndra, Inc., signed a new multi-year framework agreement worth up to US$105 million with solar integrator Sun System S.p.A., based in Milan, Italy. The solar panels for this Euro-based agreement will be manufactured at Solyndra’s facilities in Fremont and Milpitas, California. Solyndra’s cylindrical, thin film PV systems are designed to generate more electricity on an annual basis from typical low-slope commercial rooftops, while providing much lower installation costs than conventional flat panel PV technologies. www.sunsystem.it, www.solyndra.com

abengoa Solar and e.oN team up to build two 50 MW concentrating solar power plants in SpainAbengoa Solar and E.ON Climate & Renewables have formed a partnership that will see them jointly own and operate two 50 MW concentrating solar power (CSP) plants. The plants, which are already under construction, are located in Ecija (Seville), Southern Spain, one of the best areas in Europe in terms of solar radiation. The 50:50 partnership is aimed to invest around of 550 million Euros into the two plants which will start operation in 2011 and 2012, respectively. The solar facilities will produce enough power to supply 52,000 homes and avoid the emission equivalent to 63,000 tonnes of CO2. www.abengoasolar.com, www.eon.com

leading solar cell manufacturer expands production with SolarISA leading European crystalline solar cell manufacturer placed a large order for multiple SOLARIS systems from Oerlikon Systems. The SOLARIS, which offers various advantages with its revolutionary

coating technology, was recently introduced to the market. The customer will use the SOLARIS to significantly increase their production capacity in North America. The system is set for delivery during the coming year. www.oerlikon.com

phoenix Solar aG preparing to found a subsidiary in the united States of americaPhoenix Solar AG is in the process of preparing its entry into the market of the United States of America. On 30 November 2009, the supervisory board approved the proposal of the board of directors for the founding of a wholly owned subsidiary located in the State of California. The company is due to take up operations in the first half of 2010. Significant growth potential has been forecast for the US market. The State of California is especially attractive for market entry owing to the favourable market incentives prevailing for photovoltaic systems, the size of the market and the huge potential for the large-scale project business. www.phoenixsolar.de

Solyndra signs framework agreement with Germany’s alwitra Gmbh & co.Solyndra, Inc., signed a new long-term framework agreement with alwitra GmbH & Co., in Trier, Germany. The solar panels for this agreement will be manufactured at Solyndra’s facilities in Fremont and Milpitas, CA. www.alwitra.de

canadian Solar to build solar panel manufacturing facility in ontarioCanadian Solar has commenced the site selection and approvals process to establish a 200 megawatt module manufacturing facility in Ontario. The company recently submitted a significant number of FIT applications to Ontario Power Authority and has also received considerable customer interest for “Made in Ontario” solar systems. Canadian Solar expects to make definite decisions about the plant site, cost and ultimate size in Q1 2010. The new facility is expected to result in 500 new direct manufacturing jobs in Ontario and sufficient capacity to supply electricity to 60,000 homes per year. The estimated cost of the plant will be C$24 million, and once completed, it will be one of the largest solar panel manufacturing facilities in North America. www.canadiansolar.com

eSolar named World economic Forum Technology pioneer 2010The World Economic Forum selected

eSolar as a Technology Pioneer 2010. This prestigious award recognizes eSolar’s technological innovation and global commitment to delivering a low-cost clean energy alternative to fossil fuels. From over 300 applicants, eSolar was one of just 26 companies named by the World Economic Forum’s international committee of 58 technology experts. www.esolar.com

oerlikon Systems and Meyer Burger enter strategic cooperationOerlikon Systems and Meyer Burger signed a strategic distribution and cooperation agreement for the SOLARIS thin-film coating equipment. As part of the agreement, Meyer Burger’s sales & service organization will represent the SOLARIS for crystalline Silicon PV application in most regions, such as China, Taiwan, Europe, Middle East, India & the Americas. Furthermore, the two high tech companies will work together to further develop anti-reflective coatings and other innovative process steps within the manufacturing process of crystalline solar cells. www.oerlikon.com/systems/solaris

Worldwide energy and Manufacturing announces 23 MW in new solar contractsWorldwide Energy and Manufacturing USA, Inc., announced two new solar panel contracts for a total of 23 megawatts, valued at approximately US$46 million. All of these solar contracts will be shipped in 2010. The company believes that the superior structural technology and cost efficiencies of its solar panels, combined with its quick turnaround and delivery ability, contributed to winning these contracts. The company has currently filed 14 patents on its solar panel technology. www.wwmusa.com

Q-cells and lDK Solar announce continuation of supply contract for solar waferQ-Cells SE and LDK Solar Co., Ltd. have reached an agreement to continue their supply contract for solar wafers from 2009 to 2018. During recent amicable negotiations, the two companies resolved all differences of opinion over the interpretation of the agreement and neither side will pursue legal action. Q-Cells also agreed to no longer pursue measures to collect the bank guarantee. Joint business activities between the two companies remain unchanged. Q-Cells and LDK Solar have agreed to increase the flexibility of delivery schedule. Flexible pricing based on market levels and Q-Cells’


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preferred customer status will apply for the entire remainder of the contract term. A portion of shipments scheduled in the years 2009 to 2011 have been postponed to the period 2012 to 2018. Q-Cells will therefore receive around 20% in the current year and at least one third of the originally agreed volumes in 2010 and 2011. Q-Cells also has the option to increase these volumes if needed. The total delivery volume for the entire ten-year term remains unchanged at around 6 GWp. In addition to the amendment, the parties have finalized an agreement to expand their cooperation in the areas of cell and module processing. Q-Cells will supply solar cells to LDK Solar on a tolling basis and LDK Solar will supply modules to Q-Cells on the same basis. www.q-cells.com

Suntech signs 17MW Mou with pure energies, expanding its footprint in ontario solar marketSuntech Power Holdings Co., Ltd., signed a memorandum of understanding with Ontario, Canada’s Pure energies to supply up to 17MW in 2010. The MoU, which also provides a framework for module supply from Suntech to Pure energies through 2011, is focused on bringing affordable, high-quality solar systems to Ontario’s rapidly growing residential solar market. Pure energies, while meeting the domestic content requirement for 2010, will deploy Suntech’s industry-leading panels for its unique offering to the Ontario residential market, enabling the development of ‘eco friendly’ homes. www.suntech-power.com, www.pure-energies.com

Solarfun signs agreement to build 100MW solar power plant in china’s Jiayuguan city, Gansu provinceSolarfun Power Holdings Co., Ltd., announced that Jiangsu Linyang Solarfun Co., Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of Solarfun, has signed an agreement with the government of Jiayuguan City, Gansu Province, under which Solarfun agreed to build a 100MW solar power plant. To support this project, Solarfun agreed to construct a module production facility in Jiayuguan City. www.solarfun-power.com

carmanah establishes Middle east manufacturing partnership with pTl SolarCarmanah Technologies and PTL Solar™ announced a manufacturing partnership that will bring leading-edge solar LED lighting technology to the Middle East and selected countries in Africa. PTL Solar and Carmanah have partnered to manufacture

solar LED lighting solutions for outdoor lighting applications at a facility under ENPARK in Dubai. The partnership will enable flexibility and responsiveness in meeting market demands while providing high-performing solar LED lighting solutions within a cost framework the market expects. carmanah.com, www.ptlsolar.com

General plasma wins Innovator of the year awardGeneral Plasma Inc. (GPI) was named the Small Company Innovator of the Year at the Arizona Governor’s Celebration of Innovation (GCOI) an annual awards gala honoring Arizona’s technology leaders. General Plasma received the award for significant business success and technical innovation. www.generalplasma.com

GWS Technologies begins accepting orders for proprietary solar panelsGWS Technologies, Inc., has begun accepting orders for their own proprietary solar panels beginning January 1, 2010. The panels, set at very competitive price points, are guaranteed to have 90% power output assurance for 10 years, and 80% power output assurance for 25 years. GWS Technologies offers two different panels to start, with more to follow in the early spring. The first panel is a 220 watt Monocrystalline panel and the second a 180 watt Monocrystalline panel, both of which are UL listed and TUV certified. www.greenwindsolar.com

SINGuluS TechNoloGIeS acquires 100% shares of STaNGl ahead of schedule for solar forayThe SINGULUS TECHNOLOGIES AG, Kahl, acquired the remaining 49% of the STANGL Semiconductor Equipment AG, Fürstenfeldbruck near Munich. SINGULUS now owns 100 % of the shares of STANGL. With the complete acquisition of STANGL, SINGULUS lays the foundation for an even faster expansion in the solar segment. www.singulus.de

centrosolar establishes branch in BeneluxCENTROSOLAR Group AG has opened an international branch in the Netherlands, intensifying its existing activities in Benelux. Managing director Michiel van Schalkwijk brings over 15 years of experience in the solar industry to his new post. The new office is based in Tiel (Netherlands), 30 kilometres south of Utrecht. Centrosolar is able to build on an

existing network of customers in Belgium and the Netherlands. www.centrosolar.com

amtech announces $9 million in solar ordersAmtech Systems, Inc., announced that its solar subsidiary, Tempress Systems, Inc., has received approximately $9 million in solar orders for its diffusion processing systems from several new and existing customers in Asia. The orders are expected to ship within the next six to nine months. The orders represent both new customers and significant follow-on orders from recent new customers. www.amtechsystems.com

Suntech signs long-term supply agreements for up to 490MW in europeSuntech Power Holdings Co., Ltd., has signed three long-term supply agreements for up to 490MW of high performance solar modules to be delivered over the next three years. Three of Suntech’s strategic long-term partners in Europe, including a value-added reseller, an EPC (engineering, procurement and construction) company, and a project developer, signed the agreements to secure access to Suntech’s market leading solar modules and to develop closer collaboration on market information, shipment planning, and new product roll-outs. www.suntech-power.com

TSMc and Motech signs strategic partnershipTaiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited and Motech Industries Inc. jointly announced the signing of a share subscription agreement under which TSMC will subscribe through a private placement for 75.32 million new Motech shares. The total consideration is approximately NT$6.2 billion (US$193 million), or NT$82.7 per share, representing a 16.9% discount to Motech’s 3-month average closing price. TSMC will become the largest shareholder of Motech with 20% shareholding through this investment. The transaction is subject to Motech’s shareholders’ approval and regulatory approval. www.tsmc.com, www.motech.tw

Feed-in Tariffs: Best way to a sustainable solar future, says SeMI pV GroupSEMI PV Group has announced the release of a white paper on solar feed-in tariffs intended to promote widespread awareness and understanding of public policy best practices in support of solar


Industry News

energy. Developed in response to SEMI board of directors direction and under the guidance of PV Advisory Boards from around the world, the white paper outlines the PV Group’s summary of public policy principles in support of PV power adoption and key best practices for feed-in tariff policy design and implementation. The PV Group supports the development of feed-in tariffs around the world as the most effective means to ensure sustained growth for the PV industry. Copies of the white paper can be downloaded from http://www.pvgroup.org/NewsArchive/ctr_033406. www.pvgroup.org

Soitec expands into solar energy market with the acquisition of concentrix SolarFrance based Soitec Group, signed an agreement to acquire privately held Concentrix Solar GmbH (“Concentrix”), a provider of concentrated photovoltaic (CPV) solar systems. With this acquisition, and in line with its strategy, Soitec is entering the fast-growing solar industry, capturing value through the system level and expanding its revenue base as worldwide demand for CPV systems is anticipated to ramp up strongly in the coming years. Soitec’s technologies in engineered substrates are key to improving solar cell performance and therefore strongly complement Concentrix’s expertise in high-efficiency CPV systems for solar power plants. This combination will deliver an even more attractive and competitive value proposition to satisfy the growing needs of renewable energy. Additionally, the transaction includes access to the high-efficiency concentrator solar cell technologies from the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE ( “Fraunhofer ISE”). Simultaneously, Soitec has signed a strategic technology alliance with both the Fraunhofer ISE and the CEA-Leti. www.soitec.com, www.concentrix-solar.de

henkel sponsors university of Michigan solar car teamHenkel Corporation has announced its continued sponsorship of the University of Michigan Solar Car Team. As part of being a Silver Sponsor, Henkel continues to lend its technology and expertise to this project. Since 2005, Henkel has partnered with the Michigan Solar Car Team to provide products on their vehicles, which compete every two years. This is a great opportunity for both organizations to exchange ideas and utilize technology for alternative energy applications. “Henkel is dedicated

to supporting the educational community,” said Chuck Evans, executive vice president, automotive, Henkel. “The students of the Michigan Solar Car Team and their exploration of alternative energy sources is representative of the sustainable direction of the automotive industry. We are honored to have supported the University of Michigan in their successful endeavor at the 2009 World Solar Challenge, and congratulate them on their third place finish.” www.henkelna.com/automotive

lDK Solar signs module supply contract with enfinityLDK Solar Co., Ltd., a leading manufacturer of solar wafers, announced today that it has signed a contract to supply solar modules to Belgium-based Enfinity. Under terms of the agreement, LDK Solar will deliver approximately 50 megawatts (MW) of solar modules to Enfinity in 2010. “We are very excited to expand our relationship with Enfinity,” stated Xiaofeng Peng, Chairman and CEO of LDK Solar. “This new module sales contract with Enfinity reflects the growing interest and demand for our quality module products from European customers.” “We are very pleased to secure LDK Solar’s quality modules, the contract reflects one quarter of our total demand for 2010,” stated Gino Van Neer, Board member of Enfinity. “We look forward to further cooperation with LDK Solar as we continue to build our leadership presence in the renewable energy sector.” To know more, visit www.ldksolar.com, www.enfinity.biz.

First Solar becomes first pV company to produce 1GW in a single yearFirst Solar Inc. manufactured and shipped more than 1 gigawatt (GW) of its photovoltaic solar modules in 2009, becoming the first PV company to attain this production volume in a single year. First Solar has increased its manufacturing capacity from approximately 75 megawatts per year at the beginning of 2007 to more than 1GW today. First Solar has continually lowered the cost of manufacturing solar modules, breaking the $1 per watt barrier earlier in 2009. www.firstsolar.com

yingli Green energy to supply 130 MW of pV modules to IBc Solar aG in 2010Yingli Green Energy Holding Company Limited signed a sales agreement with IBC SOLAR AG to supply 130 MW of PV modules to IBC SOLAR from the

first quarter through the fourth quarter of 2010. www.juwisolar.com, www.ibc-solar.de

Despatch Industries achieves firing furnace sales milestone in chinaDespatch Industries has sold over 200 firing furnaces into the Chinese solar cell manufacturing market. The unit total includes Despatch’s best-selling CDF/CF7210 Series metallization firing furnace and its newly introduced firing furnace, the UltraFlex with Microzone Technology, which is rapidly gaining interest in China’s cell manufacturing market. The company currently holds the number one market share for metallization firing furnaces and has shipped over 10GW of firing furnace production capacity worldwide. www.despatch.com

Kyocera to provide 13 MW of solar modules for one of Japan’s largest solar installationsKyocera Corporation will provide approximately 13 megawatts of solar modules for the Ohgishima Solar Power Plant “Mega Solar System,” planned by Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) with construction by Hitachi, Ltd. Scheduled for completion in 2011, the installation will be one of the largest in Japan, providing electricity for approximately 3,800 homes and off-setting about 5,800 tons of CO2 emissions each year. To promote land-use efficiency, the Kyocera solar modules, covering about 57 acres, will be installed on an artificial island just outside of Tokyo Bay. global.kyocera.com/prdct/solar/

evolution Solar receives solar panel purchase orderEvolution Solar Corp. received a purchase order from an international customer for 8.5 MW of mono crystalline solar panels. The purchase order resulted from introductions made by Beacon, Ltd. a Bermuda based consulting firm recently engaged by the company to assist with the introduction of its renewable energy solutions to the Bermuda market. www.evolutionsolar.com

Mark Ziencina appointed to new regional sales manager solarASYS Inc. appointed Mark Ziencina regional sales manager for solar equipment in the U.S. Mark comes to ASYS with 15 years of experience in automation. He has spent the past 12 years in the Silicon Valley working with F500 clients in the semiconductor, solar and other high tech industries. www.asys-group.com

Events Calendar16-20 February 2010Solar Energy 2010 Berlin, Germany www.messen-profair.de

3-5 March 2010PV Expo 2010Tokyo, Japanwww.pvexpo.jp

3-5 March 201025th Photovoltaic Symposium Bad Staffelstein, Germany www.otti.de

16-18 March 2010Semicon China 2010 Shanghai, China www.semi.org

30 March-1 April 20102010 5th AsiaSolar PV Industry Exhibition & Forum Shanghai, China www.asiasolarexpo.com

27 April 2010PHOTON’s 8th Solar Silicon Confer-ence Stuttgart, Germany www.photon-expo.com

17-22 May 2010 Solar 2010 Phoenix, United States www.ases.org

24-26 May 2010PV America Tampa, United States events.jspargo.com

9-11 June 2010Intersolar Munich, Germany www.intersolar.de

30 June-2 July 2010PV Japan 2010 Yokohama, Japan www.semi.org/PVJAPAN-EN/

13-15 July 2010Intersolar North America San Francisco, California, USAwww.intersolar.us

2-5 September 2010Soltec Hameln, Germany www.rainer-timpe.de

12-14 October 2010Solar Power 2010 Los Angeles, California, USA www.solarelectricpower.org

First Solar Manufacturing, Frankfurt, Germany (top)—featured in Global Solar Technology issue 2.2, Mar/Apr 2009.

investfuture

in your

First Solar Manufacturing, Frankfurt, Germany (top)—featured in Global Solar Technology issue 2.2, Mar/Apr 2009.

Volume 1 Number 2 November/December 2008

Paul Davis Interview Inside

NEW PRODUCTS

INDUSTRY NEWS

INTERNATIONAL DIARY

MATERIALS AND THE GROWTH OF PV TECHNOLOGY

COMBATING THE IMPACT OF CONTAMINATION IN SOLAR CELL PRODUCTION

TRANSFER PRINTING: AN EMERGING TECHNOLOGY FOR MASSIVELY PARALLEL ASSEMBLY OF MICRODEVICES

Global Solar Technology Volume 1 Num

ber 2Nov/Dec 2008


News for Solar Manufacturing Industry


Volume 2 Number 3 May/June 2009

NEW PRODUCTS

INDUSTRY NEWS

INTERNATIONAL DIARY

Steamer vS. torch in Pv manufacturing—a coSt of ownerShiP comPariSon

PerSPectiveS on SemiconDuctor ecoSYStem—the SoLar route

comBing in the energY



Volume 2 Number 4 July/August 2009

NEW PRODUCTS

INDUSTRY NEWS

INTERNATIONAL DIARY

The imporTance of cpk

Debugging anD verifying microinverTers for phoTovolTaic insTallaTions

lasers, for more efficienT solar cells


Dr. Madhusudan V. Atre Interview Inside

Volume 2 Number 1 Jan/Feb 2009

Bjorn Dahle Interview Inside

NEW PRODUCTS

INDUSTRY NEWS

INTERNATIONAL DIARY

FLEXIBLE SILVER PASTE ENABLES THIN-FILM PHOTOVOLTAIC FLEX SOLAR CELLS

CONVERTING CONSIDERATIONS FOR FLEXIBLE MATERIALS

ULTRASONIC ATOMIZATION FOR UNIFORM DISPENSING AND COATING OF

NANOPARTICLES

SOLAR: IT’S ABOUT TIME


ber 1Jan/Feb 2009



Volume 2 Number 1 Jan/Feb 2009

issue_2.1.indd 1 2/22/09 9:39:35 PM

Volume 2 Number 2 March/April 2009

Rajinder KumarInterview Inside

NEW PRODUCTS

INDUSTRY NEWS

INTERNATIONAL DIARY

SOLAR INTEGRATION TAKES A PAGE FROM THE SEMI WAFER CSP PLAYBOOK

LASER SCRIBING TOOLS EDGE IN FRONT

CONFORMAL COATING IMPROVES THE RELIABILITY AND LIFE OF SOLAR INVERTERS


ber 2M

arch/April 2009



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