industry news ♦ Solar
are working hard to further improve on this rapid success so that we can deliver the best possible CIGS technology to the market.”
Deposition of the CIGS cell layers was conducted on full size 125 mm square substrates. Test configurations used to measure efficiency are identical to that used by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory and XsunX test equipment is calibrated to the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) standards.
XsunX is pioneering a new manufacturing process to produce low cost, high efficiency thin-film CIGS solar cells through the combination of thin-film photovoltaic (TFPV) process knowledge with select magnetic media thin-film manufacturing technologies pioneered in the hard disc drive industries. The company believes that leveraging small area and high rate production methods will reduce the processing defects plaguing large-scale production processes currently implemented in the marketplace.
XsunX specializes in the development and commercialization of advanced, thin-film photovoltaic (TFPV) solar cell technologies and manufacturing processes.
It is currently working to develop new proprietary manufacturing systems to deliver low cost solar products based on the use of CIGS (Copper Indium Gallium diSelenide) solar thin-films. Utilizing cross- industry enabling technologies, these systems are being developed to deliver low cost and high yield front end CIGS solar cell manufacturing methods coupled with customized backend solar module assembly and packaging systems.
This CIGS production technology is being designed as a turn-key solution to either enable upgrades to existing infrastructure or to establish new large scale solar manufacturing capacity for the production of CIGS solar cells that can be utilized in a multitude of applications. The firm plans to offer joint venture manufacturing opportunities for this technology to regional partners in a number of industry types and solar applications.
MicroLink Devices orders Aixtron MOCVD System for Solar Cell Production
The AIX 2800G4-R system will be used for low cost solar cell production.
Aixtron has a new order for an MOCVD reactor from MicroLink Devices, a U.S. company engaged in the manufacture of HBT devices and the development of III-V solar cells.
The Niles, Illinois-based company placed the order for one AIX 2800G4-R MOCVD system in a 8x6-inch wafer configuration. Following delivery in the second quarter of 2011, it will be used for the production of solar cells and HBTs. The new reactor will be commissioned by the local Aixtron support team working with MicroLink Devices’ engineers in their state-of-the-art fab.
Noren Pan, President of MicroLink Devices, comments, “Since our founding in 2000, our MOCVD III-V semiconductor materials technology has enabled us to manufacture world-class, high-performance microwave transistors. We have recently developed a novel, high- efficiency, proprietary GaAs epitaxial lift-off (ELO) manufacturing process that will significantly lower the cost of solar cells.”
“As with the company itself, our technologies have grown with Aixtron equipment, so it was a straightforward decision to select a suitable production deposition system to bring our new products to market. With our existing capabilities now fully stretched we need to greatly increase our production capacity. The AIX 2800G4-R MOCVD system is the perfect answer and will bring us high throughput and manufacturing uniformity, while keeping a low cost-of-ownership,” he concludes.
MicroLink Devices is a manufacturer of custom- designed semiconductor structures, which are used in microwave and optical communication products. Since 2000, the epitaxial wafers produced by MicroLink have been an essential input to the high speed communication industry. The company has
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