COVERSTORY


a very good microscope. That’s because DEK has been building high-speed repeatable accuracy into the heart of its systems ever since those early days. And now, with decades of expertise in designing and supplying advanced printing technologies for demanding industries like solar, electronics manufacture and the semiconductor sector, DEK offers printing platforms that are rated among the highest in the solar energy industry for their process control capabilities. By constantly and reliably delivering six-sigma PoP capability within +/- 12.5µm at 2 Cpk, DEK is able to guarantee its customers the repeatable accuracy and print quality that are essential for the industry’s most advanced techniques.


Modular flexibility Now, with Eclipse, its newly enhanced cell metallization solution, DEK ups the ante still further. With multiple print heads that operate in parallel, Eclipse gives manufacturers top print speeds of up to 600mm/sec. This means throughputs of up to 3600 wafers per hour (wph) in an industry where the standard was recently only 1200.


The great advantages of the system’s multiple heads include the fact that overall throughput can be increased even though each individual wafer is in fact processed at slower, safer speeds (1200 wph), maintaining DEK’s industry-leading levels of repeatable accuracy as well as ensuring wafer integrity throughout the print process and later, in the field. Indeed, real-world feedback data from DEK’s customers shows that breakages lie well below the 0.3% industry standard. This is thanks to DEK’s advanced handling technology that does away with hard stops and edge gripping technology, and treats the fragile silicon wafers with extreme care, while its state-of-the-art vision alignment capabilities ensure high-speed high- precision non-aggressive alignment to within just microns.


Furthermore, multiple heads mean that the line does not stop if one head halts for operator attention – the others continue to operate during maintenance or set up. Equally important in our fast-growing industry, where factory space is at a premium, DEK’s leading edge printing capabilities come in an extremely compact package, offering cell manufacturers industry-beating capabilities on the smallest footprints available.


But perhaps the most compelling aspect of Eclipse


is the fact that it has been designed with change very much in mind. That’s because one of the most certain things about life and business is precisely that nothing is certain: we know where we are today, and we must of course plan for tomorrow, but who knows what is really round the corner? That’s especially true in an industry that is as dynamic and as mutable as the solar industry. Today’s manufacturers know that their future success lies in being ready to embrace and run with changing circumstances, be they new market demands, technologies, customer locations, government policy or any of the myriad factors that impact the solar industry. Recognising this, DEK Solar has developed a solution that can be reconfigured on an ongoing basis according to budgetary and production needs. After all, why should a manufacturer invest in equipment before it is really necessary?


With its new flexible design concept, Eclipse enables manufacturers to scale production up or down, to 1200, 2400 or 3600 wph, easily and


For those manufacturers who foresee this sort of production ramp, the metallisation line can be designed accordingly, by inserting blank process modules equipped with conveyor belts where future production volumes will be added in


Eclipse flipper module inverts kit


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www.solar-pv-management.com Issue VI 2010


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